Trembling Hearts
by A'isha Ishtar
Summary: Inari's older adoptive sister finds a near-death Haku. Begging her brother to keep him a secret, she hides Haku, taking care of him as best she can. The only thing she cannot hide him from is despair. Haku/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome, welcome, one and all! A new story, I should say. My character, Nozomi, has many flaws. XD But anyway, enjoy!**

Never had there been such a gale in the Land of Waves. Never had it been so frigid and stormy that Miss Nozomi Mizuko would rather have been sitting at home, drinking tea or cocoa, than venturing to the city's local library. Thankfully, however, she had finished her business there, picking up two new romance novellas and a drawing instructional guide. She was now heading home, to get warmer, maybe play a game of Go or shogi with her brother, start on her new books. And also, it was a good thing, too, that she was young, being only sixteen years old; it allowed her to move quickly and flexibly. She could run quite fast, despite not being a ninja, and her shoes were rubber—she wouldn't easily slip on the rain.

Nozomi was having quite a fun time, hurrying home, however. She hopped and skipped over the puddles, sitting with one leg over each side of the guardrail whenever a car would go by, dancing between the raindrops as she happily made her way back to the house.

She jumped onto the city's newest addition—the Great Naruto Bridge. She didn't know the specifics, but some ninja had come into the land and broken up Gato's drug cartel; Gato was dead now, so they were all safe, and life could return to relative normality. When it was sunny, the kids in the streets would perform their own version of what had apparently happened with Gato's death. One would be dressed completely in orange, with one in a Gato costume, and some other ninja-looking kids, and the orange-clad kid would "kill" the Gato kid, and the other kids would all cheer. It was funny, she'd never seen the entire thing start to finish.

A car was coming. Nozomi hopped up on the railing, straddling the metal as she waited for the car to go by. She glanced down at the water, and was shocked to see someone's body floating there. She set the basket of books down, and leapt completely over the rail. She swam up to the surface and came over to the person's body. She pressed her head to their chest, listening. From this, she could tell three things. One, the person was still breathing. Two, their heart was still beating. And three, this person was a boy.

Nozomi carefully patted the boy's cheek. "Hey," she whispered. "Hey, wake up! Ohh… please, wake up."

The boy's eyelids parted slightly, revealing glistening hazel eyes. He coughed, a little water coming out. "W-Where am I?"

"Good, you're up." Nozomi glanced up at the rail. Shoot… it seemed like so high up now. "Okay, so… how am I gonna get back up there? I'm not a ninja… I can't do anything." She looked back at the boy. "Can you just, like, float here for a second?"

He nodded. "Yes, but hurry… I can't stay up for very long."

"Okay." Nozomi shot into the water and came up underneath the bridge. If her intel was right, there was a trapdoor somewhere under the bridge. She could use it to get the boy and herself back up. She pressed on several locations, going as quickly as she could. At last, she found it: the hollow spot. She pushed on it, and it opened. "Bingo! Now, that boy…"

She swam to the boy and, seeing that he was almost ready to pass out, hoisted him onto her back. "Just hold on—I'll have you to safety in no time, I promise!"

"Thank you," he whispered, before another coughing fit overtook him.

She hurried to the trap door, and got the boy up on the bridge first, as carefully as she was able. She then tried to pull herself up, slipping because of the water. A hand gripped hers and helped her. As she got up, she saw that the boy was breathing heavily, and it was his hand that had assisted her. "Thanks. Now, let's get you back home—you're really hurt, and this rain can't be doing any good." She got him up onto her back again, hearing him muffle a sneeze or cough into her shoulder. "Uh… bless you?"

A sound came that was definitely a cough. "Yes, that one was a sneeze."

"Okay. Come on—I better get you outta this storm before you catch a cold." Picking up the basket of books she'd left, she ran as fast as she could, trying to dodge the raindrops. She could feel the boy shivering against her, coughing and gasping for his breath. "I'm sorry I'm going so fast," she called. "But I have to hurry and get you warmed up. You're going to get hypothermia if you're not warm soon. I ain't gonna let that happen! Don't worry, though, we're almost there!"

She at last reached her house. Good, her grandpa's car wasn't here. That meant he wasn't home from work yet. But her mother was always home unless she told her children otherwise, and her brother was always home, too. So she had to sneak this kid in.

She attempted to scale the building to the window to her room on the second floor, to no avail. "Oh, darn it," she sighed, giving it another go. "I am _not_ ninja material if I can't even climb a building!"

"H-Here," the boy said. "Let me help." He raised his arm. "Ice Release." As if by magic, a staircase of ice formed up to her room.

Nozomi gaped for a moment, then tried to look back at the boy in sheer awe. "… _How did you __**do**__ that_?!"

"M-My Kekkei Genkai."

"You're a ninja!"

"Shh!"

"Right, right… sorry. Stealth and all that. Wow, I'd be a really bad ninja."

"You can climb up that staircase any time now."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah… if I don't slip, fall, and break both our necks. I'll try anything once, I suppose." Fighting to keep her balance, she stepped onto each frozen stair cautiously, afraid she'd slide on the ice and kill them both. She teetered several times, but managed to make it to the window relatively unscathed. Well, save for a newly developed, ungodly fear of heights.

She lie the boy down on her bed, and sat down by his legs. "So… I guess the first thing we'd need to know is each other's names, right? I'm Nozomi Mizuko, daughter of Tsunami Mizuko and big sister to Inari Mizuko. He's my little brother. Our dad's gone, though. Well, I mean, _his_ dad. His dad died a long time ago. I got taken in by Mom, which is what I call her. I don't call her Tsunami, that'd be weird. Anyway, our adopted dad died, too, but I didn't know him for that long. Basically, all I was around for was when he died." She retained a cheerful smile and tone as she said all this. She really didn't care; she'd come to terms with Kaiza's death, and, thankfully, so had Inari. "So, what's your name?"

"H-Haku."

"Just Haku?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's see what I'm dealing with. Where are you hurt?"

"My… chest… I don't… I don't think I…"

"W-Wait! Don't pass out on me!"

Too late.

"… Well… it's gonna be awkward when he finally wakes up to me feeling up his bare chest…"

**I enjoy constructive criticism-- please no DESTRUCTIVE criticism. That makes me feel bad and that will make Haku cry. Please, think of Haku.**

**Anyway, I like reviews. So make me happy! Tell me what you think! Should I continue? (I probably will, regardless.)**

**Ai-chan ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, everyone! Next chapter, away! This one is actually quite angst-ridden on Haku's part.**

**I would like to start this chapter by thanking the one person that reviewed the first chapter:**

**Thank you, aquamarine-acacia! Hopefully, the next line of people who've reviewed will be longer…**

**Enjoy the second installment of **_**Trembling Hearts**_**!**

Nozomi didn't exactly win the Good Night's Sleep Accomplishment patch that night. She had been rushing about, trying to keep Haku as comfortable as possible while he was unconscious.

It turned out that the injury on his chest—yeah, it hadn't been any small little slash. It was a huge, gaping wound. It was barely bleeding, thank God, but it was _huge_! She had been on the computer for practically fifteen minutes, trying to look up how the heck to bandage something like that. She washed it off first, with a few comatose protests from Haku ("Stop it, Mother", and "Five more minutes", and "Ow! Stop it, Daddy, it hurts!", which actually _worried_ her), and wrapped half the roll of bandages on it—which she had to tiptoe to get, since her family had turned in early—after applying some antibacterial cream/gel… stuff.

After that, she discovered marks on his wrists that looked suspiciously like someone had just grabbed him and dug their nails into the flesh. Boy, was he going to get an earful of a speech about taking relationship abuse when he woke up. For now, though, she just smeared some of that gel on his wrists.

When she was done with that, she made sure his pillow was comfy, and wiped his face, legs, and neck with cool water to ward off a fever. For the rest of the night, she sat awake and stared at him. She left for just a minute to make sure Granddad came come, then checked on Inari. He was sound asleep in his new little racecar bed, snoring quietly.

She then returned to watching Haku sleep.

*

A bit sluggishly, Haku forced his eyes open. He found himself staring at a green… no, blue… _teal_ ceiling. Looking around, he saw that the walls, though, were a whitish/light blue. What had happened? Was he dead?

Wait, no. He remembered that girl—the one with the silvery-blonde hair in two ponytails and golden brown eyes, the porcelain skin, the rosy lips. She had fished him out of the water and brought him back to her house. She had put him in bed, that must have been when he'd passed out.

He was still so freezing… holy heck. Where was his shirt?

Throwing the covers off, he saw that he was stripped of his shirt and robe, but his chest had been bandaged. There was a little bit of blood showing through, but not much, and it was a sincere effort. And why did he smell like antiseptic? Did that girl spread something on him? Sniffing his wrists, where there was a lot of the smell, he recognized it as an antibacterial cream.

And he had a splitting headache. He groaned, suppressing another coughing fit. Why did that girl save him? He wasn't worth saving. Why didn't she let him die? If he died, he'd be with Zabuza. He wanted to be with Zabuza. Zabuza was his master. He needed to serve him, even in the afterlife… Zabuza would be very mad when he finally got there…

The door opened, and in walked the girl with the pretty, pale gold hair and striking aureate eyes. She was carrying a cup of something that was steaming, and she smiled (brightening the room) when she saw him. "Oh, you're awake! That's good, I hoped you'd be. You took quite a nap, there." She offered the cup to him, sitting on the chair beside the bed. At which point, he wondered, _Did she stay up with me all night?_ "Herbal tea," she explained with another smile. "Try to drink some—it'll make you feel better, according to my mom. She's not a medic or anything, but she used to be friends with a girl who was a medical ninja, so she learned a bunch of cool stuff! You know, the stuff that's useful wayyyy after you learn it. The stuff you sit there and think, 'Wow, when am I ever gonna use _this_?', and then it turns out that someday, you actually, really _need_ it!"

Taking the cup, Haku raised an eyebrow. Oh, that was right. She rambled a lot. Last night, she'd told him all about her dysfunctional family. Her adoptive mother, her adoptive brother, her adoptive brother's father who was dead, and her own adoptive father who was dead. Despite what his instincts told him (not to be overly inquisitive), he couldn't help being curious about what had happened to her own family; _her_ mother and father, _her_ siblings, _her_ biological relatives. Had she never had any? Maybe she didn't know. He didn't voice any of these interests, however. "Thank you," he said simply, before trying to sit up. A sharp, stabbing pain in his chest stopped him, making him cry out in pain.

"Careful!" The flaxen-haired girl—oh, what was her name? He didn't remember—gently helped him into a fairly painless sitting position. "You have to watch that. Whatever hurt you, it hurt you really bad, Haku. You can't do stuff like that without thinking… you're just gonna make it worse."

And she was telling _him_ what to do? He knew more about medicine than she did. He was just tired, and hadn't been very clear on what had happened last night. Before she found him, he thought he was dead. "I'm sorry," he managed to say through clenched teeth. "I'll be more careful next time."

A light blush covered her face, and she drew back as if she'd been struck across the face. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, Haku. I just had a long night, and… I'm worried about you. Plus the fact that if my mom, grandpa, or brother knew you were here, they'd _freak out_. They'd think I was, like, having sex with you or something, or dating behind their backs. Which I'd never do, though. I mean, who does that? And besides, I'd never be able to keep it a secret if I had a boyfriend. I'd be so happy, I'd want to yell it to the world and make everyone jealous! I know it sounds mean, but there are just some things I like to brag about."

He sighed, raising the cup to his lips. "Perhaps you should stop talking?"

"Huh? Oh!" Her blush darkened. "Y-Yeah, I kinda… do that a lot. It's like I just can't stop talking once somebody gets me going! I mean, I know I'm doing it, and even though I'd really like to stop, I just can't, and—"

"Were you getting to some sort of point?"

"Oh! Yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck. "If you notice me doing that when I'm talking to you, just interrupt me, okay? Tell me to shut up or something. Just say, 'Zomi-chan, you're rambling again! Shut up, shut up, _shut up_, I can't hear myself think! Your voice is like a giant pair of nails, and the world is your blackboard! It is illegal to call that carrying on a conversation, because _you're_ the only one talking! I mean, seriously—'"

"You're doing it again," Haku reminded her, before taking a sip of the tea.

"Oh. Sorry, Haku-kun." **(1)**

"So, your name's Zomi? I'm sorry, I really don't remember."

"Oh, that's fine! I mean, it's to be expected. You were out like a light before my mom even yelled at me to go to sleep. I wouldn't anticipate that you'd remember much. Just my pretty face! Oh, but wait… I probably don't look that nice right now, do I? My hair's probably a mess, and I'm not wearing any make-up, and I didn't change my clothes, so I probably stink and need to take a shower. Then again, though, I basically took a bath when I saved you! But still, I probably look like—"

"Your name?" Haku reminded her gingerly, trying to get her back on the right path.

"Oh! Right. I'm _No_zomi Mizuko **(2)**, Tsunami's daughter and Inari's older sister. Oh, and Tazuna's granddaughter. I didn't tell you that last night. I wonder why. I mean, Granddad's one of the people me and Inari respect a whole lot. Inari's gonna be his apprentice, you know. He's gonna be the man of the house soon, building bridges, making revenue… aw, he's gonna be all grown up before I know it, and by that time, I'll be an old prune, and no guy will ever like me, and I'll never get married and have kids!" Her chest heaved as she began to sob, covering her face.

"Please don't cry," Haku stammered, putting the cup down on the stand beside the bed. He really didn't like to see people cry, especially girls. He'd had enough of that. Girls were such fragile creatures, so easily upset, and whoever hurt them enough to make them cry deserved torture. What could he do to make her stop crying? He hadn't even said anything! She'd started rambling again! "You—You're beautiful! Please don't cry! You're actually the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! Really! Don't cry!"

Nozomi ran an arm over her eyes, sniffling. "R-Really, Haku-kun?"

"Yes! Just… don't cry!"

She smiled at him. "Thank you! Oh, nobody's ever said something so nice to me!" She threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight as she could. "You're the best!"

All of a sudden, a knock sounded at the door. "Hey, Nozomi-nee-chan!" **(3)** came a little boy's voice. "Mom says it's time to get up and do your paper route!"

Haku saw Nozomi's face contort in fear as the doorknob turned.

**Ooooh, a cliffhanger! Or, as I like to call it, a cliffie. I love reviews, but not if you're going to call my story, characters, or anything like that crap. Good reviews, please. No flames, as they will be used AS HAKU'S HAIR DRYER!!! (Well, he was just in the ocean. He needs a good drying off.)**

**OK, so a few Japanese translations for you wonderful people:**

**JAPANESE TRANSLATIONS**

**(1) kun – an honorific denoting friendship/friendliness. "Kun" is usually used for boys, but is also used for girls under certain circumstances.**

**(2) Nozomi Mizuko – Literal translation is "Wish" (Nozomi) Water Child (Mizuko). It could be taken separately, or as "Water Child of the Wish", as if the word "no" was inserted between the two words (i.e., reading "Nozomi no Mizuko"), that is what it would mean.**

**(3) nee-chan – A child's version of "nee-san", which is simply an honorific expressing love or affection for one's older sister. Nee-chan is likely to be used by younger kids, while nee-san is used by teenagers and young adults. Added onto the end of a girl or young lady's name, it means that she is (or is considered) and older sister to the one who is calling her that.**

**Well, stay tuned for the next chapter, and I can promise… it will be very funny, and the next one shall be full of angst.**

**Signing off for now,**

**Ai-chan (which is what I call mahself) ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeah, I know it's late. ^^; I promised myself I'd get it up two days ago, but first I forgot, then I had a dance the next day with my boyfriend, so... yeah. I'm so sorry! But enjoy this!**

**Oh, and thanks to: aquamarine-acacia and whiteraven95 for reviewing! I love hearing what you guys think!  
**

Nozomi was terrified of what would happen if Inari came in and found Haku. He'd probably tell Mom or Granddad. "Inari, don't come in here!"

Too late. Her brother had opened the door and come in. He was dressed, but barefoot. His eyes widened when he saw Haku in his sister's bed. "Um… Nozomi… who's that guy?"

"Uhhhh…" Nozomi hopped in front of Haku, arms outstretched, mouth puckered in a comedic manner. "What guy?"

"The one in your bed you're trying to trick me into thinking isn't there."

"Um… this is a dream!" She grinned. "That's it! It's a dream, Inari-otouto! **(1)** N-Now, why don't we get you some ice cream and wait for you to wake up, huh? See, this is my dream boyfriend. When I dream, I kiss him. Why do you think I'm so excited about going to bed, huh? Well, we better go get that ice cream. Your favorite's chocolate, right? Or is it butterscotch?"

Inari gave her a look. "Do they even make butterscotch ice cream, nee-chan?"

Nozomi opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it when she realized she didn't actually know. She opened and closed her mouth again, but then smiled. "Well, I'm not sure, hon. Saaaaay, why don't we go find out? And when ya wake up, everything shall once again be sane."

Inari crossed his arms. He obviously wasn't buying it. "I'm not that stupid, Nozomi-nee!" **(2)**

She sighed, slumping forward. "Okay, Inari. I'm sorry I tried to trick you. But, look… I need you not to tell Mom or Granddad about this."

Inari flat-out glared at her. She knew he meant it to be an intimidating gesture, but she just found it so darn cute. "Why should I, Nozomi? I mean, this isn't the first time you've lied. What about the Tooth Fairy? Or—Or the Garbage Can Genie? Or the Potty Pixie? That one was just plain weird!"

"Ah, ha, ha…" She rubbed the back of her head, grinning sheepishly. She had manipulated her little brother's willingness to trust her a few times to get out of doing work… especially the work Granddad gave her, since she wasn't interested in it. "About that, Inari…"

Inari threw his head back, getting red in the face. "Who is he?!"

"Inari!" Nozomi clamped a hand over her brother's mouth, restraining him around the waist as he wiggled, heading to probably go tell their mother, who would likely chew her out and kick Haku to the streets. "That was uncalled for, young man! No, stop fighting with me! I mean it, you little—owwwww!!!" She yanked her hand away. "YOU BIT ME!!!!! OH, YOU LITTLE CREEP!!!" She proceeded to chase him around the room, shouting at him. "GET BACK HERE! I'll kill you!!!!! I'm gonna clean your clock! I'm gonna fix your wagon! _I'm gonna put ya on a bruise cruise to no man's land_!!!"

"Nozomi!" came a woman's shout from the other room. Oh, man, it was Mom. "What are you and your brother doing?!"

"Nothing! I'll be down in a minute, Mom!" She grabbed Inari around the waist and lifted him up. "Okay, you little weirdo! You are not going to tell Mom about him."

"And why not, huh, Nozomi?" Inari shot back, struggling to get out of her grip.

"Because if you do, I will tell her _everything_ I know about you."

"Oh, yeah? And whadda you know about me?"

"You don't really brush your teeth at night, you were the one who broke her vase, you took all my socks out of my suitcase before I went on my trip last week, annnnnd… you touch yourself at night."

"I do not!"

"You might as well. You practice what to say to your little girlfriend while standing in front of the mirror, and then you _pretend to be her_. Now, isn't that called… transvestism or transsexualism or something? Cross-dressing? Drag-queening? Anyway… I'll tell Mom all of that."

Inari glared. "Well… who is he, anyway?"

"His name's Haku. I found him, he was almost dead, I brought him back here, and you're not gonna say a bleeping word about him. You are going to help me feed and possibly wash him until he can take care of himself."

"I'm not washing another dude!" Inari protested, clenching his fists.

"Well, then, don't tell Mom and the only thing you'll have to do is help me feed him!"

"Okay, okay! I'll help, I won't tell!"

"And can you do my paper route today? Just today? I need to make sure he's alright."

"No! I may be willing to help you with him, but I can't fit on your big bike!"

Nozomi pouted. How was she going to do her route and still take care of Haku? "But Inari-otouto…"

"Look, I'll look after him while you go out and do your route, okay? I've already had breakfast, so Mom won't think it's weird if I say I'm gonna be in my room. She'll think it's weird if you don't want breakfast—I mean, you're a bottomless pit!"

Nozomi glared at him. "One more word about the cake incident, and you'll find yourself going_ down the river_."

Inari gulped. "Uh, well… so, I'll see you after your paper route, sis! Do a good job delivering! And don't ramble. That gets you less tips, y'know."

"Grrr." She snapped her teeth at him. "Fine, then. You have to make sure to… to get the water on him, and make sure he drinks that tea, and… and talk to him, it'll make him feel like you really care, and—"

"Excuse me, I'm not a plant," Haku interrupted.

She felt her face heat up. "I-I'm sorry, Haku…" She leaned down to him and patted his hand. "Don't worry, I'll be back in maybe twenty minutes… possibly a little longer. But Inari will take care of you. Promise, he's a good little helper." She looked at Inari. "You won't spitball the poor guy, will you, boy?"

Haku started to get up. "M-Maybe I'll just come with you—"

"Hey! Get back down there. Don't be silly, Haku-kun. You'll be fine. He won't do anything to you unless he wants to find that picture of Dad in _my_ locket."

"Noooo!" Inari hung on her leg. "Not the picture of Daddy!"

"Okay! Geez, Inari, I was kidding. Alright, then." She leaned down and kissed Haku on the forehead. "Rest. I'll be back before you know it."

As she ran out the door, she grabbed a granola bar, yelling good-bye to Mom, and went to hurry and finish her route as fast as she could.

**Cliffhanger, kind of? Well, the next chapter will be told from Haku's point of view, and you'll find out a lot about Nozomi's past. You'll learn some things about her that may shock you, given her cheerful nature.**

**Japanese Translations:**

**(1) otouto - little brother**

**(2) nee - just a shorter version of "nee-san" or "nee-chan", which means older sister**

**If I forgot anything, message me and ask me, OK? I don't want mah readers to be confuzzled.  
**

**Until next time!  
**

**~Ai-chan ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to aquamarine-acacia for reviewing last chapter, and thanks to all of those who've reviewed so far! Keep 'em comin', guys! **

Haku looked at the young boy he'd been left with. The boy, Inari, had scruffy brown hair and brownish-black eyes. He looked so sweet and innocent, if a little untrusting at the moment. And that, of course, was understandable. "So," he said, putting his cup down, "how old are you, Inari?"

Inari crossed his arms. "Eight. And you?"

"Fifteen."

Inari smirked. "Ha. My big sister's older than you. Nozomi-nee is _six_teen."

Haku shrugged. "I don't mind. If you're hoping to get me jealous or upset, it's going to take a lot more than that, Inari-kun." **(1)**

Inari scowled, his lips twisting into a pout. Obviously, the boy _had_ been trying to get him riled. "Well… well… you look like a girl! Ha! Yeah, I'm gonna call you 'Shiro-chan' **(2)** from now on!"

Haku raised an eyebrow. "I know. I choose to look this way. I'm androgynous."

Inari mouthed out the big word. "Andro… what-i-nis? Are you sick?"

"Androgynous," Haku repeated. "It's a fashion that challenges the standards of men and women. I'm androgynous, so I like to look somewhat feminine, and I do things that you wouldn't think boys normally do."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Well… I like to collect flowers, and talk to birds. I'm a medic. I prefer the company of girls instead of boys—no, not in the sense that I'm a pervert." He tilted his head. "And don't think you can taunt me with all that. I'm not ashamed of it."

"Hmmph." Inari crossed his arms again. "Yeah, well… you're a… you're a…" He stomped his foot. "I can't think of any mean name to call you!"

Haku closed his eyes, picking up the mug again. "Call me a failure."

"Huh?" Inari kicked at the carpet. "Well… why would I do that?"

"Well, you wanted to call me a name, and I know I'm a failure. So call me that."

Haku felt Inari sit down on the bed. "I'm sorry. Um… how are you feeling?"

"Dead."

Inari giggled. "Yeah, well… hey, I bet nee-chan would appreciate if I gave you some Tylenol! **(3)** She's always wantin' me to be responsible like that. I'll go get you some. And if it makes you feel better, you can look at it and stuff before you swallow it. I'll bring some water, too, so you don't burn your mouth taking it with that tea."

Haku nodded. "Alright, then." Leaning back as Inari left, he let out a quite audible sigh. He hurt all over. He really _wished_ he were dead, like Zabuza. He had been very disoriented last night when Nozomi had rescued him, and had been grateful.

Now, however, he was seriously questioning his gratitude.

It wasn't that he didn't think she was a good, kind person. She was. But being alive meant enduring so much pain. Physical pain, emotional pain… ohhh, here it came. He felt like he was going to cry. His chest, his wrists, his bones, his heart… it all hurt like nothing he'd ever felt before. His wound burned despite the bandages, his wrists stung despite the ointment, his bones ached despite the fact that he was going to get Tylenol in a moment, and his heart… well, his heart had hurt long before he'd ended up here, but it was worse now. He'd lost his mother to his father. He'd lost his father to himself. He'd lost Zabuza to Gato.

"Where am I supposed to go now?" he whispered, more to himself than some invisible person. "Who am I supposed to turn to who will make the pain go away?" **(4)**

"Haku!" Inari came rushing back into the room with a full glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol. He bumped the door closed with his hip. "Sorry I took so long. I had to stop getting the water 'cause my mom wanted me to give her a kiss. _Parents_, right? So annoying sometimes!" He set the glass down carefully on the table. "Okay… you're fifteen, so how many of these are you supposed to take?" He was glaring at the bottle, as if he thought that if he stared it down, it would give him the information he wanted. Haku chuckled at this; did the kid think he was Chuck Norris **(5)** or something?

"Here, let me see." Haku reached over, wincing at the searing pain in his chest, and took the bottle. "I usually take two when I have a headache… oh." He looked at the label. "These are extra strength, though." He handed the bottle back. "One extra strength is the same as two regular." Throbbing in his chest, wrist, muscles, and heart reminded him of how much discomfort he was really experiencing. "Oh, what the heck. Give me two. I'm sure I'll regret it later if I only take one."

Inari's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure, Haku? 'Cause if you're only supposed to take one…"

"I'm a medic, Inari. I think I know what I'm doing," he huffed, holding out his hand for the drugs.

For a second, Inari looked as if he were going to cry. He dropped two Tylenol into the older boy's hand. "Aren't you supposed to have a grown-up watch you when you take medicine?"

"I _am_ a grown-up. I think I'm old enough to swallow a few Tylenol by myself." He placed the pills in his mouth, washing them down his throat with half the glass of water. After they'd gone down, he greedily drank the rest of the water. It felt so good, ice cold, pouring down into his body. He looked at the little kid, who was staring at the floor, and instantly felt very guilty. Inari's face reminded him of… himself, when he was younger. Before he met Zabuza. He reached over, again clenching his teeth at the pain, and tilted up Inari's chin. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that, Inari-kun. I just don't feel very well. How would you feel if you were me?"

"Mmm…" Inari looked down. "Not too good, I guess, Haku. I'm real sorry."

"Oh… it's no problem, really." He ruffled the kid's hair. He really did remind himself. "Don't be sad."

Inari sat down in the chair Nozomi had left, crossing his legs. "So, where are your mommy and daddy, Haku? Are you going back to them when you're better?"

His eyes closed halfway. Did he wish he was. If he could be with his parents, he'd be dead. "No, I'm not. After Nozomi is finished nursing me back to health, I have no idea where I'm going. I'll probably kill myself so I can be with my master."

Inari's eyes widened, and he grabbed Haku's blanket. "Don't do that!" he begged. "Please don't!"

Raising an eyebrow, Haku brushed a lock of his own hair back. It was curious that the little boy reacted like that to his statement. "Why not?"

"Well, don't tell Nozomi-nee, but…" He got close to Haku's ear, climbing onto the bed, and looked around, as if he didn't want anybody to hear. "I think she really likes you," he whispered. "And, I mean… she and Daddy were really close. I was close to him, too, but she was old enough to do practically everything with him. She worked with him. They played together, and they played with me. But, when he died… well, was killed, actually…" He twiddled his fingers, probably a nervous habit. "She wouldn't talk to anybody. I mean, neither would I. I was crying all the time. But… I think Nozomi-nee was worse than that. At least I talked a little bit, like 'yes' and 'no'. She didn't even talk—at _all_. If somebody tried to talk to her, she'd either just sit there and not talk to them, or get up and leave. She nodded and shook her head for yes and no. If she wasn't eating, she'd stay in her room all the time… staring at the ceiling. Just looking at nothing. I even saw marks on her wrists, and… hey!" He suddenly grabbed Haku's wrists. "You have those marks, too! You slit your wrists!"

Haku's eyes widened in surprise. Nozomi cut herself? Or—used to? Why would such a pretty, sweet girl do something like that to herself? Because someone close to her died… that hurt his heart even more to think that this kind young woman would hurt herself on purpose. He, however, hadn't done that to himself. "No." He gently pried the boy's fingers off his arm. "Sorry to contradict you, but these aren't cuts. You see, a few days ago, I was looking for herbs, and reached into a plant called nettles. It usually stings you, but I'm allergic to it, so it was worse of a reaction for me." He took Inari's hand, and tried to give him a smile. "I didn't cut myself, I promise."

"How can I be sure you're telling the truth, Haku?" Inari's eyes were brimming with tears. "Nozomi-nee denied it, too. When we asked her about it, she wrote that she cut herself doing dishes or manking dinner, but she didn't do any of those things anymore. We knew… but we couldn't even try to make her stop. She wouldn't listen to nobody."

Haku blinked. He hadn't seen any cuts on her wrists… but he hadn't been looking very closely. "When did she finally stop?"

Inari closed his eyes. "When those ninja saved our village. It was only a couple of days ago… she'd gone on some kind of trip… a nature hike, she called it, but I don't know what it was. When she came back, and the bridge was there, and we told her everything… that was the first time I saw her smile in a really long time. That was the first time she hugged me and kissed Mommy in a really long time."

"How long has it been going on?"

"About two years. She didn't know Daddy for very long, 'cause she was thirteen when she came into our family, and Daddy'd already been with us for a year. But, boy, did she love him. For the rest of that year—about three or four months, I think—she didn't leave his side. Then… when they killed him… she just stopped caring. Stopped smiling. She hadn't smiled since she was thirteen, and finally, when our village was saved… she finally started to care again."

Haku sighed. "And… why do you think I shouldn't kill myself? Would it make any difference to her?"

Inari nodded vigorously, his shaggy hair falling in front of his face. "She needs you, Haku." He took Haku's hand, though it was much bigger than his own. "See… when Nozomi-nee cares about something, she _really_ cares about it. She goes to any lengths to protect it—like Daddy said, she protects it with both arms, even if she dies protecting it. And I can tell she really cares about you. She doesn't like it when something or someone is… mistreated, or taken advantage of. That's why she got so upset when Gato took over—she would speak out, along with Daddy, and when they took her and him away together… they'd both come back with bruises. Wasn't hard, you know, to figure out what they'd done to 'em. Daddy, though… he didn't give up, no matter how much it hurt. But Nozomi-nee was scared. She didn't want to die. Before Daddy died, she… she wasn't really practicing the 'die for what you love' thing. She was just in love with the idea of it. She said she did it, but really, when she started to get physically hurt, she got scared and stopped rebelling." He looked down, avoiding Haku's eyes. "They still took her, still hurt her. And when they killed Daddy, she ran inside the fence and begged them to kill her in his place—or, if not, kill her along with him. She didn't want to lose him, and that… was when she started practicing what she preached. She didn't want to live if it meant never seeing Daddy again. And… you know what Gato said to her?"

Haku's stomach dropped, and he had a feeling he wouldn't like how this next part went. "What?" He realized now that he was whispering like some gossiping middle-schooler, too.

"He just hit her on the face, kicked her down, and told Zori and Waraji not to kill her, because she wasn't worth it. She was just a weak little girl… and she deserved to see the torture we were about to endure." By now, tears were falling to the carpet, staining it from rose to burgundy. "And that was when she snapped. After the village was saved, the bridge was built, she started doing all this caring. She would care for the plants around here. She baby-sits. She takes home hurt animals and helps them. And now, you…" His voice dropped even lower. "Haku, I'm scared. I think she might start cutting herself again… if you don't live. She really cares. She can handle it if an animal dies… even though she might cry and sulk for a day or two… she can take it. But human lives… that's a different thing with her, you know? She really can't let a human die or she'll never forgive herself. And, Daddy… she only forgave herself about him because the village is finally free and he didn't die for nothing. But, you… she really believes she can save your life. I believe it, too. Please, don't kill yourself. It'll be one thing if she can't save your life because you're too hurt or sick or something… but if she finds out that you killed yourself, that you wanted to die, she's… she'll probably follow your example. I don't want her to kill herself, Haku. I want my sister to stay here, just the way she is. Don't kill yourself, okay? Please?" **(6)**

Haku was already tired and had a headache. He didn't feel like arguing with the child right now. And he did feel a little sad for Nozomi. He didn't want her to kill herself, especially because of him. "Alright." He put his tea down and lie back on the pillows, suddenly not feeling very well at all.

"Hmm?" Inari squeezed Haku's hand. "What's the matter, Haku?

Are you alright?"

"I want Nozomi to come back." He didn't want to make the boy feel bad, or think that he was needy, but he young lady's presence was very comforting. Her touch had a calming effect, and just knowing she was in the room reassured him. Even though she wasn't a medic, he knew she could take good care of him. "When is she coming back?"

Inari glanced at the clock. "Well, it's been about fifteen minutes. She should be back in fifteen more… or maybe a little longer. Don't worry! I'll keep you company, Haku. Whaddaya wanna talk about? I'll talk about anything! I'll even shut up and listen to _you_!"

Haku managed a ghost of a smile at the boy. "Would you happen to know any good ninja love stories, Inari?"

"Oh, boy, do I!" Inari crossed his legs again, clasping his hands under them as he leaned forward to tell his story. "Okay, well, once upon a time, there was this civilian guy named Sanzo **(7)**, and this cold ninja girl with a heart of gold, and _her_ name was Koorimi…" **(8)**

**Woot! So much angst. I'm so sorry about the angst in this one, but… I had to give Nozomi-chan some character depth, hmm? If not, she'd just be a flat, lifeless little thing on the page. So, this time, I am not only doing Japanese translations, I am doing references and my own little comments. So, here they are in order:**

_**(Jap.) **_**-kun is an honorific denoting friendship, usually used for boys but also for girls in special cases (if you want to know what they are, review or PM me, k? ^-^)**

_**(Jap.) **_**-chan is the same as –kun, but usually for girls**

**Please just pretend they have Tylenol. They probably have some form of pain relief, OK? So let's just say it's Tylenol. **

**If you are not at least saying "awwww" by now, you have no heart. XD**

**For all of y'all's future reference, yes, **_**Chuck Norris is SO ninja, baby**_**!!!**

**You better be CRYING by now. (LOL)**

**Shout-out to Saiyuki. Anybody out there watch/read it? :D**

_**(Jap.) **_**Koorimi is literally translated as "ice beauty". Ha-ha-ha, don't you guys just LOVE the meaning and symbolism I put into completely random names that shall have no real significance later in the story?! XD XD XD**

**Well… I suppose that's all I have to say for now. I know I'm not updating on a regular schedule—**_**please**_** bear with me, I'm trying to get myself organized. I have two projects due for English and health **_**this week**_**, and after that, my birthday's coming up end of this month (Japanese kimono party! You're all digitally invited! I'll probably have something about it on my anime website either the day before or after, so all of you who regularly or sporadically visit the website, eyes open!), but then it's summer! We only have, like, four weeks of school left. Aren't you guys excited?! I get to go to the vocational school next year and I won't be stuck in my crap school with loads of work that doesn't even concern the field I'm going into!**

**Anyway, as always, I love and appreciate every one of my readers, so please love me as well and send me reviews, because it makes me feel like my effort hasn't been wasted.**

**See you all next time! Stay tuned! (Visit my novel website and comment, plz! Shameless advertising, people, shameless advertising.)**

**~A'isha-chan ^^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to whiteraven95 (I love your avatar/icon! Isn't Haku the cutest thing?) and ToshiroHitsugayagirlfriend (OMG! I like L'il Shiro, too! We have sooo much in common!) for reviewing last chapter! Enjoy this one, guys!**

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!"

Nozomi stumbled as she ran away from Hakkai-furui-san. **(1)** "Ow! C'mon, Old Man Hakkai! It was a joke! It was a _joke_!"

Hakkai-furui-san, who had been pelting her with hot chocolate packets (as they were his only viable weapon), glared, shaking his fist at her. "Well, it wasn't funny, Mizuko! Next time, bring me my paper without all that sass, or I'll see to it that you're fired! Now get off my property!"

Turning around, Nozomi sighed, waiting for the inevitable. "Three… two…"

"Rotten kids!"

One.

She picked up as many of the cocoa packets as she could and hurried off, pedaling her bike down the street. Well, she wouldn't be getting any tips from Hakkai-furui-san today… or ever again.

She looked at her basket. Whoo, she was done! She was eager to get back to Haku. She went as fast as she could, dodging people and cars. "Whoa! Coming through! Oh, hey, I love the new hairstyle, Mrs. Kurosawa! Makes you look ten years younger, I swear! And… I'm outta here!"

She felt as if she were flying as she turned the corner and jetted out onto the Great Naruto Bridge. Her legs were burning as she went faster and faster, soaring on the street, the concrete beneath the wheels of her bike, the knowledge that she could possibly fall flat on her face at any minute, and -!

Wait. That wasn't a positive, fun, or pleasant thought at all.

"Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man, oh, man!" she screeched as she tried to slow down. If she went too fast, she'd miss her house! "Crap! No, no, no! Ah!" And off her bike she flew, face-first into a giant barrel of glitter glue they'd been using to decorate the bridge.

She popped her head out of the barrel, sighing. "My freakin' luck."

"Nozomi!"

Whup. That was Granddad's voice. She turned her head. Yep. There he was, Tazuna, her grandfather. "Uh… hiya, Granddad."

"What on Earth are you doing here?" He adjusted his glasses, giving her a stern, _Young lady, I am very disappointed in you_ look. "Aren't

you supposed to be back at the house?"

Nozomi shook out her hair, but it was useless. It was already matted with glitter glue. She sparkled now. Like the Cullens. Well, then, she supposed she could now throw that Twilight-themed Sweet Sixteen they couldn't afford last year. **(2)** "Uh, well… I was doing my paper route, Granddad. And I kinda flew off my bike. I was on my way home, I'm finished. Okay? Now, can somebody please get me outta this barrel before I become a walking kindergarten art project?"

As if he'd been cued, one of the guys lifted her out of the barrel. "Uh, there, Miss Mizuko."

She batted her eyelashes at him. "Ohhh, what are you doing later?"

"Nozomi!" Granddad took her by the wrist. "Look, we're all very busy down here, and he's at least fifteen years older than you. Please, just go home."

She nodded. "Okay, Granddad. I wanna go, anyway. Inari and I were, uh… playing shogi! Yeah, and I wanna get back to our game. He was up, and I gotta beat him!"

"Right." He looked like he didn't quite believe her. "Then get going! And wash that stuff off quick. It's not that slow to dry. Go on, you look like a walking parade! See you at home, baby girl."

"Bye, Granddad." She retrieved her bike from a confused worker, and pedaled home.

She reached the house and put her bike in the garage. She then hurried into the house, saying hi to her mother. Tsunami asked why she was covered in glitter, and Nozomi replied that there had been an accident at the bridge and she had bore most of the shimmer-y brunt. She said she was going to go wash off, then would spend the rest of the morning playing with Inari. Tsunami simply shrugged and told her to have a good time and tell her if she needed anything.

Nozomi practically flew up the stairs to her room. She flung the door open, and was actually pleasantly surprised to see Inari cuddled up on the bed, sleeping against Haku's hip. "Awww," she giggled, closing the door. "That's so precious! How long has he been like that?"

"He told me a ninja love story, then fell asleep against my leg. Probably about five minutes ago."

"Oh, the one about Sanzo and Koorimi? Dad loved to tell us that one." Nozomi noticed that Haku's voice was flat, and he wasn't looking at her; just staring at Inari. "You're not some kind of creepy pedophile, are you?" she asked, hoping to get a chuckle out of him.

"No."

There was that nonchalant tone again, like he hadn't even heard the humor in her voice. "Is something wrong, Haku?"

"I'm… just tired, is all. And sore.

"Should I give you a Tylenol, and let you take a nap?"

"Inari gave me Tylenol already."

"Okay."

He finally looked up at her. At which point, he raised an eyebrow. "One question. Why are you sparkling?"

She flung her arms out like a supermodel. "Because I'm Alice Cullen!"

"You look more like Rosalie, to me, with the hair. It's longer than Alice's, and a different color."

She blinked, having not been expecting that. She didn't know a lot of guys read that kind of vampire-y, romance-y stuff. "Oh. Yeah, I guess. I fell in a barrel of glitter glue at the bridge, ha-ha. This guy fished me out, and I flirted with him, but Granddad said he was fifteen years older than I am, so of course I dropped it. I mean, I don't wanna go out with a guy who's almost thirty! That's way too much older than me for a relationship. I mean, I'm only sixteen."

"You should go wash that off. It irritates your skin. It'll give you a horrible rash if you don't get it off soon."

"You're right, of course. I'll be back soon. Just relax, okay?" She flitted into the bathroom and undressed, so that she was just in her underwear and bra. She scrubbed all the glue off, until there were only a few stray sparkles on her arms and in her hair. She didn't care too much about her hair. It looked so cute with sparkles in it, and glue washed fairly easily out of hair, didn't it? Her hair, at least, since it was impossibly thin. She put her clothes back on, and came back into her room. "I'm back, Haku!"

"Why do you cut yourself?"

She certainly hadn't been expecting that question.

**Author's Notes:**

**Wow, not really much to say. My birthday was a few days ago, but we just celebrated last night. We went to Hibachi's Japanese Steakhouse, where they cook the food right in front of you! It's so cool when the flames go up first thing. I was leaning back in my chair, like "Aaaaaaah! HOLY CRAP!" And they throw shrimp for you to catch – but only my aunt caught it in her mouth. Oh, and tip – when he says he's going to throw your bowl of rice at you, DO NOT ASSUME HE WON'T. I just about burned my hands, and it got all over the table. I thought he was just being funny – like he was going to flip it and then hand it to me. Yeah, apparently not. But it was really good. My mom got the Geisha Special, and I tried some of the teriyaki chicken, which was really good. The lemon chicken I had was pretty good, too. Really sweet. Had the rest of it for breakfast this morning. Delicious.**

**Anyway! References:**

**(1) - tee-hee. Don't you just love making fun of old people when they can't hear you? "Hakkai-furui-san" means "Old Man Hakkai", roughly.**

**(2) – Please no **_**Twilight**_** bashing. I rather like Twilight, so please don't message me saying you hate it. Nozomi isn't a fan of all of it, but she liked **_**New Moon**_** – the book and movie, although THE WAY THE MOVIE ENDED WAS TOTALLY, COMPLETELY WRONG.**

**Well, anyway… I guess that's it. Keep reading, and I love you guys!**

**~Ai-chan ^^**


	6. Chapter 6

**OK! :) Hi, there! Haha, I haven't updated this in a while, have I? Sorry, but there's this thing called life, and it got in my way... XD I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But hey! I just wanted to say I'm grateful to all the people who read and review this - and all the people who read/review all my other stories, as well! I love you guys so much. I couldn't be here without your support. Ah, well... I could, but it wouldn't be as fun if I never got reviews and got to reply to every single one! Special thanks to aquamarine-acacia, who reviewed last chapter.**

**Happy birthday to Kimimaro Kaguya, by the way! June 15, yay! *pulls out Kimimaro cupcakes* Who wants one? ^-^ You get one if you review! XD**

**Here's the latest chapter! Enjoy!  
**

Haku tried not to let his expression change as Nozomi stared at him with a blank look. Her golden eyes were neither wide nor small, and her mouth wasn't hanging open. She just stood there, arms dangling at her sides, looking at him. The look reminded him of the look that people closed a corpse's eyes to avoid seeing. The look of a dead person, holding no more life, the soul departed.

Nozomi's soul wasn't gone, was it?

"If you don't want to talk about it, Nozomi…"

She finally snapped out of it, shaking her head. She looked around for a moment, then decided at last to sit down on the bed near his legs. "Who told you, Haku?" she asked, fingering a strand of her hair as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Inari may have mentioned it once or twice." He shook his head, tousling his hair. "He said it started right after your father died. So… why do you do it?"

"Mmm…" An absent look on her face, she rubbed her wrists, leaving her sleeves down. After a moment, she looked down as she did this, probably trying to avoid his eyes. "I don't do it anymore. I _used_ to… not anymore."

"You did up until a few days ago, Inari said."

"Haku, if you would let me explain about this, I'm sure we can–"

Without waiting to hear what the rest of her sentence would be, Haku grabbed her hand and held it out, pushing her sleeve all the way up. This revealed several fresh-looking slits – not bleeding, but the blood was all dry. They were scabbing over, almost healed, but not quite. "I dare say, Nozomi, that these may leave scars for a while." He looked up, meeting her golden eyes. He didn't give her the opportunity to break eye contact; it was needed for this. He wasn't going to let her evade him. "How long ago did you do these? Three days? Last week? Yesterday?"

"Haku." He could see tears in her aureate eyes, as she looked pleadingly at him. Perhaps he'd gone too far. "It was… five days ago. When I was on my trip. I didn't go on a nature hike, like I'd told Inari and Mom." Her shoulders trembled, and a drop of water splashed on the carpet. "God, I'm such gutless little trash…"

He'd made her cry. Why had he even gone there? He never could leave well enough alone. He always had to interrogate people. "Nozomi, what happened?" He loosened his grip on her hand, and slid his fingers down so they interlocked with hers. "Where were you?"

"I don't want to tell you." The sobs got worse, and each one had to fight to escape her throat. "It's too… too shameful…"

"Nozomi." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Nothing you have done can be any worse than anything _I've_ done. Please tell me."

She took a shaky breath, and sniffled before speaking. "Haku… I barely know you."

"I'm a good listener."

"I can't place that kind of a burden on you.'

"It won't be a burden. I _want_ to know. Please."

"I…" More tears hit the floor, and there was a jaggedly circular spot on the floor that was slowly turning from dusty pink to a darker shade. Her eyelashes fluttered as she hid her golden orbs from him. "… I tried to kill myself."

This came as sort of a shock to Haku. He knew Inari had said that it was _possible_ she'd try suicide… but he didn't know she'd already made an attempt! That was awful! "Nozomi… why? What…? What did you hope to gain from doing something like…?"

She ran an arm across her eyes. "I just… I couldn't take it anymore, okay? I heard that some ninja were coming, and I didn't want to see Gato kill anyone else. I already lost my dad…" She swallowed thickly, not meeting his eyes, as if she were afraid to. "I just… I didn't want to see anyone else die and know there wasn't a thing I could do to stop it." She pushed her hair back, looking out the window at the slightly drizzling skies. "I went up to the cold mountain spring there… where nobody would come across me doing it. I wrote the note to my family… to Inari, and to my mom, and Granddad… I still have it." She reached into her shirt, and pulled a small paper out of her bra. "This was the only place nobody would ever find it. No one would reach down there… especially on a dead girl." She held the paper up to her eyes, and began to read, her voice cracking and quivering. "'To my family… I'm sorry it had to be this way. But I just can't take the constant presence of death all around me… having to watch people die almost every day. It's exponentially worse because I know I can't prevent it from happening. I can only hope Inari doesn't find me first. I don't… want him to see me like this…'" She paused, more tears cascading down her face. "'I want everyone to remember me as strong, okay? And don't cry. Please don't cry. I know I've made a lot of mistakes in my life… but there's one thing I don't ever regret. I have loved being Inari's big sister, and Tsunami and Kaiza's daughter, and Tazuna's granddaughter. I am glad you let me into your family, and when I lived with you, you helped ease the pain I was feeling. But the pain returned eventually… so I'm sorry. But it's time for me to go and join Tengoku-sama. I'll get to see Daddy again. So don't cry for me. I'll be happy. Good-bye, and… while I was here, I loved you all. I want you to know that. Love, Nozomi Mizuko." She looked up, crumpling the paper in her hand and taking more deep breaths. It didn't look like she was going to be talking again anytime soon, unless he prompted her.

Haku felt himself tearing up. He moved his hand ever so slightly and brushed some tears from his left eye, but didn't get any farther than that. Her suicide note was probably the saddest thing he'd heard in a long time. Ever since he had joined Zabuza, his life hadn't… been exactly sad. The only sad things he ever experienced since Zabuza employed him were deaths. The times he had been ordered to kill. Nozomi loved her family so much… and just five days before he'd arrived on her doorstep (so to speak), she had tried to do this to herself. She was prepared and everything. She was ready to leave behind the family she loved so much because she didn't want them to be the victims of the sorrow she was feeling. She was prepared to die. One thing that crossed his mind was unimaginable agony; oh, what she must feel right now! And another thing that crossed his mind was – what had stopped her? Why hadn't she gone through with it? If she was so prepared and willing to do this… what happened? Why did she suddenly change her mind?

It was as if she heard his thoughts. Nozomi sighed deeply, standing up. "But when I was writing this… I got scared. I got scared because I started to think. I started to think about… what would happen if I did it. If I really went through with it. I didn't like what I thought about. The way we all were after Daddy died…" She shook her head, shaking some of her hair into her face. "That was bad enough. I mean, did I really want to put Inari and Mom and Granddad through all that again? And I… I really _didn't_, you know. But I got in the water, anyway. I just sat there, expecting to drown myself." She wrung her hands. "I tried to do it. I really tried. But I was so scared… I didn't want to make Inari and Mom and Granddad suffer just because I was weak and couldn't deal with my feelings. So I decided not to drown myself. I just sat there, and I took out the plastic spoon I'd brought… and I kept slashing it at my wrist until it broke and cut the skin. And I did that over and over, till I finally felt…

He held his breath, wondering what she was going to say next. Was she going to say she'd felt good? Wonderful? Amazing? Released?

"… Normal."


	7. Chapter 7

"_Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now… wish right now… wish right now… can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now… wish right now… wish right now…_"

Music drifted in from Inari's room, the melodies of Hayley Williams filling the awkward silence Nozomi had created. She felt guilty about it; had she made Haku uncomfortable? She hadn't thought she was really that bad. Maybe she'd gone too far. She had been describing it to him so vividly, and it didn't feel… she didn't feel like some sort of hospital experiment. She felt like he was listening to her – really listening. Contemplating her words, and not just… jotting stuff down. He was different than anybody else who ever knew she'd cut herself. He made eye contact with her when she spoke to him. When she talked to him about this… it felt like he wasn't judging her. Like he was just going to offer sympathy, and wasn't going to rain down false, excess pity or wild opinions. He didn't treat her like some sort of freak patient that had a problem. He treated her like… a normal girl.

She decided that she liked him not only because of his looks, but because of that as well.

She took a breath, and glanced at the door. She didn't want to leave, but she wasn't sure if he really wanted her to be here. Maybe he just wanted to be alone. Maybe he wanted her to leave? She bit her lip, then finally looked back at him. His hazel eyes were pointed at his hands, which were nestled quite comfortably in his lap. It looked like he was thinking. She found herself wondering what he was thinking about. He looked sad. Maybe he felt sad for her? Or maybe this reminded him of something. "So…" she began, tracing a circle in the carpet with her bare foot. "What are you thinking, Haku-kun?"

Slowly, he raised his head to look at her. His eyes were slightly cold as he just stared at her. She could see tears pooling at the edges of his eyes, tinting them a lighter shade of chestnut. His mouth opened and closed several times, looking like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. At last, however, he decided that he did want to say something. "Nozomi… you have to stop this." He reached over and carefully took her hand, being mindful not to touch the lacerations. "Doesn't this… doesn't this _hurt_ you? You don't feel this pain?" One finger brushed against the cuts, which were all bled out. It didn't really hurt, aside from the minor soreness that accompanied all cuts, even after they were nearly healed. "That hurts, right?"

"Not overly. Remember… these are from five days ago, Haku."

"So… you're telling me… that if you took a hairpin from your hair right now… and scratched yourself…" He took a breath, and closed his eyes, shifting his head down. "You wouldn't feel anything?"

"Of course I would." She rubbed her arm, licking her lip. "… Would you like me to prove it, Haku?"

"No. Don't." Haku shifted, lying down a little. "I'm… very sorry I acted so rudely to you when I first woke up. You went to so much trouble to take care of me, and… I should be grateful. And I am. Please don't hurt yourself again. I don't want that…"

Nozomi blinked a few times, feeling her eyes tear up a bit. He didn't want her to hurt herself… did he really care about her? She found that a quite pleasant change. A lot of boys didn't really care if someone hurt themselves, or got hurt. Boys were usually the ones _doing_ the hurting, actually. "Haku… I… I don't know…" She sat down on the bed, then gently wrapped her arms around Haku, resting her head on his shoulder as she enveloped him in an embrace. "Thank you so much. Nobody…" She shook her head. "Nobody's ever cared enough to… try and stop me before. I mean, Mom an Inari… I think they just resigned themselves to the fact that they couldn't do anything to stop me. But they never tried. So thank you. And I promise, I'll try to get better. I'm happier now."

Haku groaned, but then chuckled. "I just don't like to see beautiful things in pain."

"Oh!" Realizing she was probably squeezing him too tightly, she let go of him. "I'm so sorry, Haku! Are you okay? I hurt you, didn't I?"

He smiled, a light blush settling on his cheeks. "That's fine, Nozomi. It feels good, surprisingly."

"Aw, you're the sweetest thing, Haku!" She smiled, feeling her own cheeks heat up a little. "I like you."

"Inari told me he thought that."

"Inari-otouto's always right. I swear the boy is psychic." She drew in a breath. "Sooo… I'm guessing you're not hungry, are you?"

Haku chuckled a little. "Actually, food is the last thing on my mind right now, Nozomi… my stomach is a little upset… but thank you for at least checking." He shifted a little, his eyes closing halfway. "Do you think you could take out my hair for me? I think I'd feel a little better if I could feel it going down my shoulders. You know… to let myself know I'm really still alive."

"Oh, okay. Sure, then." She leaned over and carefully untied the bun on top of Haku's head, and his hair spilled over his shoulders, tumbling down to about the middle of his back. "Oh, wow, Haku-kun!" She ran her fingers through his hair once. "Whyyyyy? Your hair is so awesome! This is seriously making me jealous, boy!"

Haku chuckled. "I like your hair, too. It's a lovely color."

"Well, you know what they say about bishounen like you, Haku – 'half the women who see that man will want him, and the other half will just be _jealous_'. And I am definitely _jealous_!" She tossed her own hair back. "Hey… Haku? Would you mind if I just kinda… play with your hair for a little while?"

"Uh… sure, I guess."

"Yay!" She sat there beside him sidesaddle, on her bed, and sifted her fingers through his hand. "Mmm, your hair's such a pretty color! I wish I had this color. And it's so soft, Haku! But that's probably from the water, right? I bet you'd like a shower or a bath or something. Your hair sure needs done – it's getting all tangled up. It's not that bad, but it could get worse."

She suddenly felt a hand tracing over the top of her own, the one she didn't currently have in the boy's hair. She glanced up, and met Haku's hazel eyes. Unshed tears shone in them, and he was giving her what she assumed to be a look of pity.

She took a few breaths, as she just gawked into his eyes. She could get lost in those beautiful chocolate orbs; could stare at them for days and not get bored once. "… Haku?"


	8. Chapter 8

**OK... I'm hoping nobody's really angry with me... I'm overdue for a chapter of this story. You ask me to update sooner, and I don't always do it. I try my best, believe me. If I had the whole thing written out, I would update as often as I could. But sadly I'm only working on chapter 12 right now, so... yeah. Here's chapter 8, enjoy.**

**Thanks to aquamarine-acacia for reviewing last chapter. :)  
**

Haku wasn't quite sure what to say now. Nozomi had moved on from the subject they had been talking about – her suicidal tendencies and how she didn't want to make her family sad. She was now blathering on about how beautiful his hair was, how she wanted that color. She was so bubbly and happy now, but… he didn't think she should be. No, she shouldn't be at all. She had just been crying, unhappy at her current situation… so how could she do that? How was she able to switch so easily from one, negative emotion to another, positive one? It should have been impossible for someone to do, especially a young woman, whose hormones were raging inside her body, therefore making it very difficult to control her feelings. She was obviously hiding her true emotions – concealing her agony and frustration under false happiness. If he had anything to do with it, she wasn't going to do that anymore.

So he touched her hand, just with one finger. He wanted to tell her something, but didn't want to startle her by interrupting her fondling of his hair. She looked up at him, and an expression of mild surprise decorated her features. She held his gaze, not breaking it, and didn't blink. She just looked in his eyes, and he looked in hers, as well. Swirling seas of gold, bright and shining, slightly bloodshot and rimmed with red from her earlier crying. But still lovely nonetheless. She breathed deeply twice, and her soft lips parted barely. And then, the whisper of his name left her mouth.

He repaid her. "Nozomi…" He got closer to her, sitting up as best he could, and drew her into a very light, very awkward embrace. "I'm… sorry for what you and your family have… been through." He decided, for now, to leave out the part that he and Zabuza probably had contributed to what had happened to her and Inari's father. That would only hurt her more right now. "My heart… reaches out to you. Don't mask your true feelings – that only causes more pain. I don't want you to be in pain."

"Oh, Haku…" Her voice was quiet, hesitant, and she began to shake in his arms; he could hear her crying again. She was finally letting her true feelings show. That was good, she needed that. "Haku, thank you…" She put her arms around his neck, holding him tightly. They sat there like that for a few minutes, as Nozomi wept. As last, however, she let go of him and stood up, running an arm across her eyes to dry them. "I see what you're getting at, Haku. I really do – I get it. I understand what you're trying to say. And thank you for trying to make me feel better. I appreciate that so much. Like I said, nobody's ever cared enough to try. But, look, Haku… _you_ have to understand something now." She looked around, and finally just hopped up and sat on her vanity. "Sometimes, it's best to just move on from a subject and not talk about it anymore. My suicide attempt… that's one of those things. After you're done talking about it, explaining it and everything, you _never_ talk about it again. You sweep it under the rug and move on." She brushed some of her hair back. "So, let's just… move on, okay?"

Haku couldn't decide if he thought he agreed with that or not. On the one hand, you had to release your emotions. Crying helped with that; when you cried, all the pain, all of what you were upset about – it was flowing out of your body, gone forever. On the other hand, Nozomi was making sense. If you moved on and you didn't have to think about it, and you thought and talked about something else, and it wasn't on your mind all the time, you could be happier and eventually forget about it. He actually found it a little scary that _Nozomi_, of all people, was now making sense. He shifted in the bed a little, shaking out his hair.

The shift caused Inari, who had still been asleep against Haku's leg, to stir. Clutching the sheet in both hands, he looked up blearily, rubbing his eyes and blinking. "Nee-chan…" he mumbled, yawning. "You back?"

"Shhh." Nozomi walked over and carefully picked up her brother, issuing a small grunt. "Go back to sleep, Inari. We were just talking, is all. Shh, you can sleep some more." She hiked him up in her arms and rubbed his back lightly, looking peaceful. "Oh, he's getting so big," she commented, mostly to Haku than to herself, smiling. "He's almost nine. I'm gonna take him back to his room, okay? I'll be back in just a second." She opened the door, walked out with Inari, and closed the door behind her.

Haku lie back, closing his eyes and trying to rest. Why was he so tired all of a sudden? All he felt like doing now was sleeping. He certainly wasn't going to take the chance of turning over on either side, and he knew that until he was completely healed, he would have to give up sleeping on his stomach, which was his favorite position. He simply turned his head to one side, yawning quietly as he tried to settle in for a nap. Nozomi wouldn't mind if he went to sleep, would she? She'd probably like that, actually; she wanted him to rest and get better. To be honest, he still wouldn't mind if she left him to die; even after all she'd just told him. He had no family to make upset by dying; no friends, either. And if he died, he'd be with Zabuza again. That was all he wanted.

But then he remembered what Inari had told him earlier. _"It'll be one thing if she can't save your life because you're too hurt or sick or something… but if she finds out you killed yourself, that you wanted to die, she's… she'll probably follow your example."_ And Inari wanted Nozomi to stay here with their family. She would care if he died, if he _wanted_ to die. He couldn't tell her about this… not now. He would have to wait until he told her about this, if he told her at all. But he thought he should tell her sometime. She deserved to know.

Then it occurred to him that he was doing the exact same thing she had been doing: masking his feelings.

He wasn't telling her the truth.

**BUM BUM BUM. And cue the suspense.**

**Well... I don't think the ending of this chapter was all that suspenseful, but whatever.**

**I PROMISE I'LL TRY TO UPDATE SOONER! I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN! SCHOOL'S GONNA START SOON SO MY LIFE WILL BE CRAZY AND I PROBABLY WON'T BE ABLE TO UPDATE AS OFTEN AS THIS BUT I SWEAR I WILL DO THE BEST I CAN! I will NEVER leave you guys without a next chapter. I will never just QUIT any story that I have been updating within the past year. Even if it takes forever, I will update! I promise! I love you all and thank you for sticking with me!**

**Till next time,**

**-Ai-chan ^^  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**... This chapter is SO long overdue, I don't even have anything to say for myself. *dodges flying senbon and a cookie in the shape of Haku* OK! *picks up the cookie* Who threw this? Who threw this... *looks* Amazingly accurate cookie of Haku at my head? *no answer* Yeah? Well I'm keepin' it! *takes a bite***

**Haku: YOU JUST TOOK A BITE OUT OF MY HEAD!**

**Me: *mouth full* *looks down* *looks back up at Haku* Yummiest damn beheading I've ever committed. *takes another bite***

**Haku: THAT WAS MY ROBE!**

**Me: Blame whoever made the cookie. It's yum-o. *takes another bite***

**Haku: YOU JUST ATE MY LEGS!**

**Zabuza: A'isha, for God's sake! You just ate the boy's dick!**

**Haku: *whole face is redder than Gaara's hair* Z-Zabuza-sama, s-sir... I don't... I... ah... *faint***

**Me: *is being held by the collar of her shirt by Zabuza* I CAN'T HELP IT, HE'S DELICIOUS! *crams the rest of the cookie in her mouth and runs away* YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! NEVERRRRRRRR!**

***dodges more flying objects* ENJOY THE CHAPTERRRRRR!  
**

Nozomi hummed a made-up, nonsense little tune as she carried her little brother back to his own room to sleep until dinner. She bent backward a bit, attempting a stretch that wouldn't cause her to drop Inari. She rested her cheek against her younger's dark hair. She could smell strawberry shampoo, the kind she herself had worked through his chestnut locks the previous night. He could wash himself, of course, but after he was done, she had him lean over the tub and washed his hair. She remembered one thing that signaled a positive change in his personality. He'd stopped wearing that little white hat. He had worn it ever since Kaiza died, and now, he hadn't been. When she'd arrived back from the excursion during which she had tried to kill herself, he hadn't been wearing it, and she had been surprised. And then she'd found out about those ninja who had saved their land. They had killed Gato and the assassin who was trying to take out Tazuna, and the bridge had gotten finished. They had saved her and Inari's grandfather, and they had saved her home; for that, she would be forever grateful. Inari recounted the entire story to her in an excited voice, sitting happily in her lap and making sweeping gestures to indicate what was happening. Well, at least… he'd told her the entire story until he fell asleep in her arms. It was almost ten at night when she'd gotten home, after all. Inari was supposed to have been asleep at nine, but since she had called to tell them she was coming home that night, he'd wanted to stay up and wait for her. He never actually told her the rest of the story, but she didn't quite mind; the Land of Waves was safe now, and that was all that mattered to her. The ninja protected her grandfather and her country, so she would always hold them in highest respect.

If only they could have found a way to revive her father. If only there was a way to bring back Kaiza.

Nozomi adjusted Inari so that she was holding him over her shoulder steadily with one arm, and used the other hand to open the door to his room. She walked in, replacing her other arm, and he squirmed in his sleep, making a noise; it was one of those noises that was impossible to identify whether it was because of sadness or happiness. She looked around the room before walking over to his bed. His room looked much like a stereotypical boy's room. Posters of action heroes plastered all over the walls – mostly ninja – and plastic figures everywhere. Unlike other boys, however, he kept his toys neatly stored in bins; he didn't leave them all over the floor for people to step on.

Nozomi trudged over to Inari's bed and leaned down. She carefully laid her brother down on the mattress, being very gentle with his small body. He was so little; she was always afraid that when she played with him, she might hurt him. She pulled the sheet over him, tucking it snugly around her little brother. She put a hand on his head again, and smiled. For the first time in roughly two years, she had been able to actually feel his hair; and it was soft, and it felt like she was running her fingers through silk. Like Haku's hair, but a different color. She kissed his cheek lightly, and turned out the light so he could sleep.

She didn't feel like leaving. She sat down on the bed, and lie down beside her brother. Fingering his hair, the sheets, and pillow, she suddenly felt very tired after taking care of Haku and telling him about her attempted suicide. Explaining your feelings to people was so exhausting sometimes, especially feelings like this. She glanced at the clock, and saw that it was about eleven in the morning. She yawned, and decided it would be okay if she rested for just a minute. She wrapped her arms around Inari and closed her eyes, placing her head against his.

-xxx-

Nozomi jolted awake, not quite sure what had woken her up. She bolted upright and, confused, looked around, because this was _so_ not her room. She then remembered that she had brought Inari to his room, and then… had she fallen asleep? Oh! She looked over at the clock, swiftly moving off the bed. It was five-fifteen. Oh, man, oh, man! She'd left Haku alone for _six hours_! What if her mom had found him?

Nozomi walked out, leaving the door open about an inch. Inari was going through an "afraid-of-the-dark" phase, and he'd go crazy if she didn't leave the door open a little. In fact, if she was able to tell the truth, _she_ was afraid of the dark sometimes, too. Before her mother could catch her, she darted back to her room. She was just about to open the door when she heard a car pull in. She grinned; Granddad was home! That meant it was time for dinner. She hurried into her room and bolted the door. "Hi, Haku! I'm back."

The other teenager looked up at her and offered a weary smile. "What time is it?"

"According to that car door and the clock in Inari's room," she answered, flopping down on the bed beside him, "it's about five o'clock! My grandpa's home. He's a bridge builder. He _built_ the Great Naruto Bridge, didja know that?"

Haku was silent for a moment. It looked like he was thinking, tracing little circles in the sheet. But finally, he replied. "No, I didn't know that. So fascinating, Nozomi."

His voice sounded kind of hollow again. "I know, right? But it's time for dinner now. I'm guessing you're still not hungry?"

"Not really." He placed a hand over his stomach. "If you could, I'd like some fresh tea. And maybe tomorrow I might feel well enough for some soup… but I'm not sure. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Okay! Well, I still have to go to dinner with the fam. I eat pretty fast, but everyone has to stay at the table till the others are finished, and then, um… I think it's my night to wash the dishes. So, I'll be back in roughly… two hours. Give or take a twenty-nine-minute cushion of time on either side, of course. So, uh, you can either rest or…" She hurried over to her bookcase and browsed her selection. "Do you like Shakespeare?"

"Yes."

"Good!" She drug out her giant _Collected Works of Shakespeare_ book and pranced back over to the bed. "Here ya go!" She laid the book on the other side of him. "I'll put it here. That way, if you wanna read it, it won't be that hard to reach, but if you don't it's not gonna bother you."

"Thank you."

"Alright, Haku – I'll be back! Tell me whether you like the book or not, if you read it – and which ones you read! Bye-bye!"

And she was off out the door like a speeding bullet.


	10. Chapter 10

When Nozomi mentioned her grandfather, Haku remembered that she had told him the man's name: Tazuna. He had a vague feeling of knowing something about that name. And then now, when she'd said her grandpa was the person who'd built the Great Naruto Bridge, it clicked. Tazuna, Inari and Nozomi's grandfather, had been the person he and Zabuza had been hired by Gato to kill. He was actually a little horrified when he realized this. He and Zabuza had been trying to assassinate Nozomi's grandfather. He didn't want to tell her... but he knew that the responsible thing to do was tell her. But not now - this was his first day with her, after all. She would probably get furious with him, and kick him out of her house.

Wait... wasn't that kind of what he wanted? If she threw him out, he'd go to the streets of the Land of Waves. The streets, especially here, were an extremely hard place to survive, much less thrive. He would, no doubt, easily fall ill, contract a fatal infection... and die. Wasn't that what he was sort of going for?

Sighing deeply, he scooted into a sitting position, carefully reaching for the book she'd left him. "I'm just sparing her feelings," he assured himself, opening up the book to the table of contents. "That's all. I don't want to hurt her. I'm not protecting myself - I'm protecting _her_. That's all there is to it."

He perused the contents, wondering which one he felt like reading at the moment. _Romeo and Juliet_ - the tragic love story, two people who loved each other but couldn't be together because of their families' age-old feud. _MacBeth_ - another romantic tragedy, this time focusing on war. _Julius Caesar_ - the classic historical tragedy, dealing with politics in ancient Rome and a plot to overthrow the emperor. _Antony and Cleopatra_ - another tragic love story.

Haku frowned. These were all tragedies. If Nozomi expected him to acquire a better disposition, she couldn't shove a book full of heart-wrenching dramas at him and run out the door telling him, "Have fun!" Where on Earth were Shakespeare's comedies? In a separate volume? He didn't feel like reading about death and sadness right now. That would only increase his desire for merciful death, and Nozomi wouldn't be happy about that; neither would Inari, for that matter.

Finally, however, he came to _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. He turned to that page and began to read, brushing his bangs out of his face. He found it hard to concentrate, however. His mind kept wandering as he tried to focus on Helena, Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia, and the playwrights. He should be dead right now, he should be with Zabuza. He really had little desire to be here. He was in a strange home, a strange bed that he really shouldn't be in because it was a girl's, holding a book that wasn't his. If he listened very carefully, he could hear Nozomi talking and laughing with the rest of her family like a normal teenage girl. As he heard this, he suddenly felt a deep longing for his own family. He missed his mother... and even his father a little bit, before he'd known about the Kekkei Genkai. He could remember smiling with his parents. When he was little, they would walk down the street and swing him with each of their hands, all of them happy just to be together as a family. Memories of his best birthdays came flooding back, where nobody would ever cry. He could even remember his third birthday, where he'd accidentally fallen into the cake and his father had to hose him down while his mother got a new one. Everything had always been so simple, so perfect, and they never got upset with each other - they just laughed at life's little mistakes.

But that all changed the day he discovered his powers.

He had been so delighted that day. He had first made a ball of water to hold, and tossed it around a few times. His mother hadn't been looking; she had been hanging up laundry to dry. He wanted her to look over at what he was doing, like any child would, so she could gush and say how proud she was and hug him. So he did more. He orchestrated a grand, if rough and improvised, water show. He created drops splashing all around, long whips of water that swished around before disappearing, and last of all a fountain. It was small, not very detailed, and certainly far from perfect, of course. He had turned around, cheeks flushed with excitement and practically bursting with pride, expecting to see his mother laughing and ready for a hug so she could praise him. But she was still busy. So he finally just made that first ball of water again, and ran over to show her.

If only he had known what that would do. Such a simple thing, showing his mother something so that she might be proud of her son. And yet it changed so much. It changed far too much.

And then Zabuza. Zabuza, the only one who had been nice to him. The one who had taken him in when there was nowhere else for him to go. Nobody but

Zabuza had accepted him for what he truly could do. Nobody else saw his talent, his eagerness. So of course he always strived to make Zabuza proud of him - proud. After he had awakened his powers, that one word, proud, that was something that nobody ever felt about him ever again. So it had felt so good when Zabuza always told him, "Good job, kid", while giving him a slap on the back at the end of their training sessions.

But Zabuza was gone now. He'd never be there again to say "Good job" or even "You can take a break now".

Nothing would ever be the same.

Haku simply stared at the book now. He didn't feel like reading anymore, but if he didn't, he would be bored beyond belief. He tried rubbing his eyes, trying to keep them focusing on the book. But they kept looking around the room - Nozomi's room. Plastered on the walls were posters - Mayday Parade, Evanescence, Miley Cyrus, Michelle Branch. There was even a fold-out of the Hitachiin twins from _Ouran High School Host Club_ on one side of her mirror, and a fold-out of Ayame and Yuki Sohma from _Fruits Basket_ on the other side. On a shelf, there was a pink teddy bear holding a heart, an empty heart-shaped picture frame, a star-shaped picture frame with a picture of Inari in it, and a boombox, presumably for satisfying all her musical addictions.

He tried looking back down at the book. He began to read again, blinking every so often. His eyes were getting sore, so he just assumed they needed more saline; blinking usually helped with that. A tiny yawn broke through, but he ignored it. He was trying to read, trying to stay focused on something for more than ten seconds. He had just gotten to the second act when he noticed that his eyelids felt kind of heavy. He decided that he was tired, so then he needed to sleep. He put the book aside and took a breath, bracing himself for the pain of lying down. He had been in a half-sitting position, so this was going to be a little uncomfortable. He carefully lowered himself, inhaling sharply to prevent himself from crying at the pain that tore at his chest. He placed his head on the pillow, allowing another yawn to overtake him. He stretched his arms just a little, trying to find a position where the pain was minimal.

At last, he found one, and let his eyes close, surrendering to the relaxing darkness of sleep, the book still resting on his stomach.


	11. Chapter 11

_He had nowhere to run. He was already backed up against the wall, for the sake of all that was decent. There wasn't anywhere he could go to escape. He couldn't get away; he was going to die. He was going to die at his father's hand. "D-Daddy, no! Please, no, don't!" He stumbled, falling down and breaking a pot in the process. "I-It's me, Haku-chan! Your sweet little onigiri, remember? Please!"_

_But his father wasn't even listening now. There was nobody from the troupe of villagers left but him. The others had gone home after the first murder, as the majority of them had to get up early in the morning. But not his father. No, he was now coming toward Haku with a sharp knife, ready to finish the job._

_Haku screamed as his father came closer. He managed to scramble under his legs, almost tripping over his mother's dead body. This caused another fit of tears, as he was torn between saving himself and honoring the deceased - especially when the deceased was the woman who had given birth to and raised him for almost eight years. He finally just squeezed his mother's hand one more time, kissed her cheek, and ran outside._

_His father was behind him. He was ready to do what he'd come to do and end the very life he had helped to create. "I brought you into this world, boy," he growled, getting ever closer. "And sure as hell I can take you out."_

_Haku shrieked in fear. He felt something growing inside of him, and there was a gigantic flash. All of a sudden, his father lie dead on the ground, white flakes floating down from the sky and settling on his body._

_Haku decided not to take his chances. If his father wasn't dead, only sleeping or unconscious, he wouldn't live much longer. He had to get away. He whispered one last apology to his mother, and began to walk. However, his legs felt weak, like Jell-O, and he was so tired. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. He staggered forward, and without any warning he found himself facedown in the snow. He felt his world going black, and he shivered violently._

_It was so cold..._

"Haku. Hakuuuuu. Haaaaaaaaakuuuuuuuuuuuu. Wake uuuuuup."

"Mmmph." Haku felt his body shaking, trying to ward off a chill that didn't even physically exist. His breath came out in gasps, trying to fill his lungs. He threw his arms around himself. "S-So... so cold..."

"Boy, don't you _make_ me get Inari's super-freezing Super Soaker."

"Ah!" Haku shot up, feeling himself trembling all over. His hands were

shaking, and a frozen feeling was rattling around inside his stomach, like he'd swallowed a block of ice. His face, back, and chest were all in a cold sweat, as he tried to cool down, and he felt tears streaming from his eyes. "No... no, no, please... don't..."

"Haku!" It was Nozomi who had woken him up, and she was now sitting on the bed, a hand on his shoulder. She reached over and placed her other hand on his chest, concern shining in her ocher eyes. "Haku, it's okay! Calm down. It was just a dream, you're okay. You were having a nightmare, but it's over now. You're fine. Whatever it was, it's not happening anymore."

Haku finally caught his breath, and started coughing. "Oh, my God..." He put a hand to his head. "Unh..."

"Haku, are you okay?" Nozomi's hand slid down from his chest to his leg, as she gently patted his back, but she still looked worried. "Man... I don't think I've _ever_ had a nightmare that bad. What on _Earth_ were you dreaming about?"

"... It was nothing..." He looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes. He knew he would feel bad if he looked and saw that pitying gaze in her eyes, like she just wanted to offer comfort and help him. "Just a memory... I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You looked pretty miserable while you were dreaming." She reached down and placed her palm on his forehead. "It feels like your fever's coming back. Maybe I should wipe your face down. You feel hot."

As she went into the bathroom, Haku gave a small nod she wouldn't have seen anyway. He rubbed his arm, still able to sense the frigid temperature from his dream. He felt tears pricking at his eyes, threatening to spill over. He let them come, but he wasn't crying all-out. Two thin trails of water ran down his cheeks, but that was it. He made no move to wipe them away, concentrating on his breathing to slow his heart rate so he could calm down from the dream. He swore, the last thing he wanted to do was make Nozomi any more upset and worried about him than she already was.

Nozomi came back in with a wet rag and sat down beside him. She folded it up and wiped his forehead with it, being very careful. She suddenly gasped, and touched his cheek. Her hand came away with saline, and she wiped it off on her pants. "Haku... are you... crying?" She still asked even though she knew the answer.

"... Yes..."

"Ohhh." She ran the cloth over his cheeks as well, trying to help. "I'm sorry.

Must've been some dream, huh? Are you feeling okay now? Do you need anything?"

"No... you're already doing more than enough." He suddenly noticed that it was rather dark in the room. "... Nozomi, what time is it?"

"Almost eleven-thirty at night. Inari's asleep, and so are my mom and granddad. You and I are the only ones awake."

Haku shuddered as she rubbed the damp, frigid cloth over his face, his jaw, even down to his neck and shoulders. She was brushing his hair out of the way as she did so, not saying a word - not even humming, as she had while carrying out tasks that morning and afternoon. He wondered if she was okay. "Nozomi, are... you alright? You seem... down."

"Hmm? Oh, I'm just really tired. Sorry. I helped my mom wash dishes, then me and Inari came here. You were asleep, so I went back to his room and we read together till he fell asleep and I had to put him to bed. Then Mom and Granddad went to bed, I sewed some decorations onto one of my shirts, and then I came in and watched you sleep for... maybe an hour before you started having that nightmare."

Haku opened and closed his mouth several times before speaking. He wasn't quite sure he knew what exactly to say in response to that. After all, she had honestly _watched_ him _sleep_? For an entire _hour_? He didn't know anybody who ever had done that. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Nozomi?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to ask you what I believe is a very serious question. I'm going to ask you not to get offended, okay?"

"Okay, sure. I don't mind."

"... Are you supposed to be on some kind of medication that you haven't been taking recently?"

Nozomi stared at him, then began to laugh. "Oh, Haku! You're the funniest guy I've ever met. But anyway... nah. Other than the occasional Tylenol, I don't have any meds that I should currently be on!"

"... Well, I think you should. Seems to me like you're bipolar."

"Haku, remember the conversation we had earlier."

"Right... right. Moving on and being happy. Yeah." He shook his head. "I guess I just need some sleep."  
"I'd assume. That nightmare..." She suddenly looked sober and sad, casting her eyes to the floor. "Haku..." Her shoulders shook, and all at once he was worried that she was crying. "It sounded so awful... you sounded like you were in so much pain. I... I wanted to help you, but I didn't wanna wake you up... I didn't think it was good to wake up somebody who's..." She ran a hand over her eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I couldn't help you..."

He instantly felt his heartstrings being tugged. He hadn't even realized he was having a nightmare; he'd concerned her with what should be his business and his trouble. And she was crying again. "Nozomi..."

"Aw, never mind, you know? Life's too short, anyway. I'm just gonna sleep here, okay? I'll be right beside you on the bed, but I'll try not to get in your way while we're asleep. I'm sorry, I just don't wanna sleep on the floor..."

"No, no... that's... okay. It's fine." He did feel a little apprehensive about sleeping so close to someone, especially a girl. But he certainly wasn't about to tell her that. He didn't want to kick her out of her own bed. "It's _your_ bed, after all."

"Alright." She lie down beside him, facing the wall. She didn't put any covers over herself, and clicked the light off. "Goodnight, Haku. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight. Pleasant dreams."

"Ahhh, I'm beat. Night-night."

Haku didn't hear any more from her after that. He carefully turned himself so that he could see her. She was sound asleep, hair in a ponytail so it wouldn't get messy. He had to chuckle a little at the fact that he could hear a bit of what sounded like a whistling noise, probably the equivalent of snoring for her. It was unusual, quirky... he found himself appreciating that about her. She wasn't normal. That was fine with him - normal was vastly overrated anyway.

Glancing at the clock, he became aware of how tired he was feeling again, as it was now nearly eleven-fifty. He didn't really want to be awake when midnight rolled around; it was a creepy time. Just as he was about to close his eyes and drift off once more, he heard Nozomi mumble. He looked over to check if she had woken up. But she hadn't. She was now trying to snuggle into his side. "I'm sorry..." she murmured in her sleep. "I was only trying... to help... Mommy? ... Daddy?... big brother?..."

He instantly felt even sorrier for her. She'd had a rough life, yet she hid it all under happiness. She distracted herself from her past because she had something to live for now. She didn't care about what _had_ happened; she was just focusing on what was _happening_. All that mattered to her was her family; Inari, Tsunami, Tazuna, even Kaiza, who was dead. She had opened up to him, allowed him to see her weakness, and on the first day they had met. He now held himself responsible for her happiness. As long as he was alive, he made her happy. He didn't know how that was possible; he had no idea why she cared so much about what happened to him. But she did. He would at least put in a _little_ effort to keep her happy by living.

He lightly placed an arm around her waist so she wouldn't have any nightmares, like he'd had. She smiled in her sleep, and immediately clutched his wrist. It stung a little, thanks to the reaction he'd gotten from the nettles a few days earlier, but oddly enough, he didn't really mind at the moment. If she was comfortable, he would simply bear with it. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

"Don't worry, Nozomi... you won't have any bad dreams as long as I'm here."

**OMG, I almost cried writing this chapter... especially Haku's nightmare.**

**And don't worry, you'll find out more about Nozomi's past and family soon. I promise, they won't just be mentioned and stay outta the picture forever. That would be slight grounds for Mary Sue-ism... as I read while taking a Mary-Sue Litmus test.**

**ANYWAY. Let me know how you liked this chapter.**

**Zabuza: And by that she means click the little button and review.**

**Me: STOP TELLIN' PEOPLE WHAT I MEAN, SWORD BOY! *chases him with a waffle iron***

**... Bye. ^^**


	12. Chapter 12

The next week of hiding Haku was not one darn thing short of hectic for Nozomi. It was hard, keeping him a secret from her mother and grandfather. She hated keeping things from them, but some things needed to be kept. Like this, and like her suicide attempt. She also felt bad about dragging poor Inari into all this. She was forcing him to lie to the two people he most respected, just to keep _her_ dirty little secret. She could only imagine how he must be feeling right now.

On the upside, however, it seemed like Haku was getting better and better with every passing day. He could sit up without too much help from her, and he was at least trying to eat. She had to feed him long after the rest of her family had gone to bed, though, so she couldn't get any food to him until usually at least nine-thirty at night. He'd tried soup once, and the good news was that he could keep it down. The bad news was that he couldn't eat a lot of it before he felt full. Nozomi was a little concerned about that, but she supposed it was best not to fret. After all, he was drinking. The human body could survive for weeks without food as long as it didn't get dehydrated. She was glad she was able to force at least two cups of tea or water (sometimes both) down him every day. Of course, there was still his chest wound, but it didn't seem to be getting any worse. She hoped it was healing well... but if she had to be honest with herself, she didn't think she could bear to take the bandages off and look. She knew she would have to soon; the bandages needed to be changed every few days, and she'd already let it go longer than she really should have. She had to suck it up - she needed to remove them for the sake of Haku's health, and as soon as possible. She was just trying to gather the courage to do so.

She had noticed another sweet thing about Haku. When she went to sleep in her own bed (as opposed to once she'd fallen asleep in Inari's room), and she woke up in the morning, Haku would have his arm around her waist. She always got up before him, and so she'd never asked him about it. But she had the feeling that if she did ask him, he would surely say something that would make her heart squee with joy, as usual.

Today began normally, like any other day with Haku. She and Inari had breakfast with Tsunami and Tazuna. Tazuna left for work and Tsunami busied herself doing the dishes and then sewing. That was when Inari and Nozomi made their great escape, absconding off to Nozomi's room to keep Haku company. First, however, they made a quick stop at Inari's room. Nozomi waited outside the door, humming quietly to herself. "Hurry up, Inari!" she called - not too loudly as to catch the attention of her mother. "We gotta get to my room!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He left the door open, but was carrying an armful of books. "Do you think Haku would like any of these?"

Nozomi giggled, and happily transferred half of the load to her own arms. "I think he'll appreciate this, Inari. For some reason, he didn't seem to like the Shakespeare that I gave him."

"That's because Shakespeare is _booooooooring_!"

"You only think it's boring 'cause you don't understand _Elizabethan_!" She said this last word with a British accent, in a snooty tone.

"I can't even _say_ that word, nee-chan!"

"Proves my point!"

"You never have a point! You just go on and on _and on_!"

"Pbbbbbbltttttt!"

Nozomi reached her room at about the same time as her brother. They weren't really racing, so she decided not to mention the fact that she'd gotten there about a second before he had. She bumped the door open with her hip, as she'd left it open just a crack. "Hakuuuuuuu!" she sang out, placing her stack of Inari's books on the vanity. "We're heeeeeeeere to make you happyyyyyyyy!"

However, she didn't receive a reply. Instead, she took one look at her bed and shrieked in terror. Haku was just laying there, not moving. She hurried to his side and put a hand on his chest. Relieved to feel him breathing, she instantly began to freak out about what could be wrong with him. "Oh, my God! Haku, Haku, Haku!" She pressed her palm to his forehead and immediately yanked it away. She'd never felt somebody's skin so hot before. "Oh, God!" She began trying to remove the covers, and she felt tears gathering at her eyes. He couldn't die... he couldn't...

Inari came up beside her, clutching the bed's sheets. When she looked at him, he was staring at Haku with nothing less than sheer horror in his black eyes, which by now were the size of Frisbees. "N-Nozomi-nee-chan... wh-what's happening?"

"He's burning up!" Nozomi threw the covers to the other side of the room, desperate to cool him down. "Go get a washcloth from the bathroom and run it under cold water, then bring it right back here! I need to get his fever down!"

"O-Okay, nee-chan." As Inari was only eight, he didn't quite understand why Haku wasn't responding to them, and how his fever had come back. But what he did grasp was that Haku had gotten even sicker, and he had to do whatever Nozomi told him so that Haku would get better again. He ran to his sister's bathroom and wet a rag with ice-cold water, accidentally getting some on the floor. He almost slipped running back into the room, but managed to keep himself standing. He held out the washcloth to Nozomi. "H-Here, nee-chan."

Nozomi snatched the cloth from her little brother and began to wipe Haku's face with it. She ran the cloth over his forehead, cheeks, even as far down as his neck. He groaned through his feverish daze, which alerted her that he wasn't getting any better. Frustrated, she flung the cloth to the ground and collapsed to her knees beside the bed, sobbing. Nothing was working, what was she supposed to do? She made one final decision. If she kept Haku a secret, and his fever didn't get better, then he was going to die. She was not going to let that happen. She raised her head and looked at her brother. "I-Inari... go get Mom."

Inari's eyes widened even further. She was seriously going to let their _mother_ know about this? "A-Are you sure, nee-chan?"

"Yes, I'm sure! _Go get Mom_!"

**Uh oh Spaghetti Os. What's gonna happen now? LE GASP! ^^**


	13. Chapter 13

As Inari ran out of the room, Nozomi stood up and grasped Haku's limp hand. She could feel tears spilling over her eyes as she clutched the cold skin as tightly as she could. Her mind clouded over, and she began to think those awful thoughts again. _If he dies, I'll kill myself. I have to protect him... if I can't, then I'm not worth anything._ She tried to push them away, knowing that Haku had told her they weren't true, but it was hard. She managed to ignore them, but they still nagged away at her mind. She'd have to deal with them later, however, because Haku needed her help right now. "H-Haku..." she whispered, squeezing his hand. "P-Please... stay with me... please, I need you... you can't go... it isn't your time... I know it isn't... can't you hear me? Doesn't the fact that even _one_ person needs you... doesn't that give you enough reason to stay?"

She pressed his hand to her forehead. Her heart was in so much pain for him right now. His face was contorted in agony, the expression of suffering frozen on his shut eyes and grimacing lips. She couldn't help but think that this look was exactly the same as when he had nightmares. Since that first night, they'd happened a few times. She would wake up, maybe blink at the TV before turning it on so it might put her to sleep. After a moment, she would hear him groaning; a horrible, ungodly sound that she would liken to a person who was being forced to watch their best friend be killed... similar to her cries when she had watched them murder Kaiza. She would just look at him for a few minutes, wanting so badly to help him - to ease this hurt that was obviously planted inside his heart and mind that burdened him at all hours. But she knew she couldn't. She had looked it up; the best thing to do for a person who was having a bad dream was to just let them sleep through it, then after it was over wake them up. So she was forced to just lie there and listen to his tormented moaning. He would speak sometimes, very softly and in a voice that she would expect to be a child's, higher-pitched and frightened. She would attempt to make out what he was saying, but he was completely unintelligible when he was talking in his sleep. She hated that she couldn't do anything.

That same look... the same pain-filled expression he wore while having a nightmare... it was the same expression etched upon his face now.

With a bitter laugh, Nozomi idly wondered why. Why should _he_ look like he was having a bad dream? She was the one trapped inside a nightmare. Since she had met Haku a week ago, this was her worst fear. He was lying there on the bed, fever burning up his body, his condition having taken a turn for the worst, and she couldn't do a thing about it. All she could do was sit here and wait for her mother; she couldn't do anything for Haku. The only thing she was able to do right now was sit here and feel helpless. She hated feeling helpless.

-xxx-

Haku had known the minute he woke up that morning that something wasn't right. He didn't have any covers on him, no blankets or even a sheet, and yet he was so unbearably hot. Nozomi hadn't been with him when he woke up; she never was anymore, she was always up having breakfast. But she came back right after, and usually had Inari with her.

Somewhere along the timeline, he had drifted off to sleep. At least, he'd _thought_ he was sleeping. But then he heard Inari and Nozomi shouting. Inari sounded scared, and Nozomi sounded like she was crying. Why were they so upset? He couldn't think of anything that would be accurate as to explain why Inari was frightened and why Nozomi was crying. Why? What was wrong? He was only sleeping.

Then he thought about something. If he was asleep, how was he able to hear them and how distraught they sounded? If he was asleep, he shouldn't be able to hear or feel anything. Yet he heard Nozomi's sobs, felt her cool hand against his warm skin. It was torture, to hear her so frustrated and to be unable to comfort her. He felt her pressing a cold, damp cloth to his forehead, crying and lamenting over what was wrong.

Maybe he wasn't asleep, after all. Maybe his fever had spiked. He'd probably fallen into some kind of daze where he could hear and feel but he couldn't respond. He tried to move, but his body felt too heavy. It was like he was made of stone and couldn't will his own body to move. A headache pounded against his temples, and he was unbelievably hot. That was it, then. His fever had gotten worse, and Nozomi was killing herself over how it could have happened.

Even _he_, a master medic ninja, didn't know how it had happened. He knew that sometimes fevers reached a frightening peak, and the patient was nearly comatose. There was no reason for it. It just... happened.

It tore at his heart to hear Nozomi crying. He had never seen a human being cry as much as she did - and she cried over the smallest things, usually. The things that nobody else would cry over. But to hear her crying over something like this - something that a normal person would cry over - it didn't seem right. She shouldn't be crying. If she cried at everything else, she should be calm right now. He knew that logic didn't really make any sense, but that was what he thought. Her mind and her tears worked in reverse order of anyone else's, was how he theorized it. So she shouldn't be crying. He hated that yet again, _he_ was the one to make her cry.

He could feel her clutching his hand tightly. She was talking, but he couldn't quite make out what she was saying. She sounded so heartbroken.

Out of nowhere, she began to sing, very quietly.

"_If I die young_

_Bury me in satin_

_Lay me down on a_

_Bed of roses_

"_Sink me in the river_

_At dawn_

_Send me away_

_With the words of a love song_

"_Oh-oh_

_Oh-oh_

"_Lord, make me a rainbow_

_I'll shine down on my mother_

_She'll know I'm safe with you_

_When she stands under my colors_

"_Oh, and life ain't always_

_What you think it oughta be, no_

_Ain't even gray_

_But she buries her baby_

"_The sharp knife_

_Of a short life_

_Well, I've had_

_Just enough time_

"_If I die young_

_Bury me in satin_

_Lay me down on a_

_Bed of roses_

"_Sink me in the river_

_At dawn_

_Send me away_

_With the words of a love song_

"_The sharp knife_

_Of a short life_

_Well, I've had_

_Just enough time_..."

For roughly a minute and a half, Haku just focused on her voice and her touch. Her touch was warm, comforting... almost reminiscent of a mother's touch. She squeezed his hand tightly, but only out of fear. If she hadn't been so scared and upset, her grip would have been lighter. And her voice... it didn't quite go with the song. Her voice was meant for happy, upbeat songs. This was a sad song... about having no regrets if she died before her twentieth year. She sounded so melancholy, so... hurt. Her voice shook all over the place, and it broke at several points during the song. She did sound better than most people would on that song... but still... she shouldn't be singing songs like that... it didn't fit her. She should be singing about being happy - life, love, smiling and laughing.

All he could think about right now was how sorry he was for making her feel this way.

**Woo hoo!**

**Song is "If I Die Young" by the Band Perry. I lurvs that song so much... if you haven't heard it... GO LOOK IT UP! ^^**

**Mm'kay, bye-bye. ^^**


	14. Chapter 14

Nozomi couldn't even finish the entire song. She got about halfway through before she just broke down and began to cry again. She buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders shook. She was just mad; mad at the entire world right now. She was mad at Haku, for getting sicker; she was mad at Inari, for taking so long to get Tsunami; she was mad at Kaiza for dying and not being here when she needed him; she was mad at Gato for coming into this land in the first place and ruining so many lives. But most of all, she was just mad at herself, for allowing this to happen. If she hadn't left, she could have caught this in time and he wouldn't be unresponsive. If she'd stayed here, he wouldn't be hot as the flames of hell, and he would be able to at least look at her.

That was what she craved most right now. She wanted Haku to look at her, to speak to her. She missed making eye contact with those beautiful chocolate orbs and smiling as his sweet voice entered her ears. And that was another thing she missed, too. He had such a lovely smile, when he decided to be happy. She wished he would smile more often. At the moment, though... her only wish was that he would open his eyes and let her know he was okay and could hear her and that he liked her, too.

... Wait. She hadn't exactly said that out loud. She sniffled, loosening her grip on his hand. It was probably better if he didn't know, after all. Was there really any way he would like her back? She had a crush on a guy that she'd just fished out of the ocean a week ago. That was _weird_. She was _weird_, and everyone knew it. Haku probably knew that as well. So why would he return her feelings? Not to mention everything that Inari had told him about her past, and also everything that _she_ had told him. He probably thought she wasn't _only_ a weirdo - but a weirdo with emotional baggage. There was no way he'd ever think of liking her.

All of a sudden, the door burst open. Tsunami came running in, followed closely by Inari. "Nozomi, what is all this about? Inari says Haku's gotten worse! Who's Haku?" She saw the boy on the bed and did a double-take, stepping back. "Oh, God in heaven..." She gave her daughter a stern look, placing her hands on her hips. "Nozomi Yumi Mizuko, you are in _so __**much TROUBLE**_!"

"I know, Mom, I know!" Nozomi ran over and hugged her mother's arm, giving her a pleading look. "I know! I am in _monumentally_ gigantic trouble, and I'm going to have no privileges, _and_ I'm probably going to be grounded till I'm _thirty_! I get that! I'm a stupid, impulsive idiot! But we can talk about that later, Mom! Please - _just FIX HIM_!"

"Alright, alright, then move." Tsunami pushed past her daughter and bent down to Haku. She pushed his bangs up, placing the palm of her hand on his forehead. This earned an unconscious groan from the teenager. "Oh my... Nozomi, did you... what... I thought you knew how to bring someone's fever down!"

Nozomi fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands and sobbing. "I do, Mom! I tried it and it didn't work!"

Tsunami flung Haku's robe open, revealing the bandages. Blood had soaked through them in some spots. "Nozomi, when was the last time you changed these bandages?"

Feeling the blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment, she wiped her eyes, sniffing. "I... I haven't. I couldn't... I couldn't do it..."

"Nozomi! Honestly, I thought you knew better than that! You have to change them every three days, or the wound will get infected!" She looked back. "You, go get me that fever medicine in the kitchen cabinet. Inari, go get me some antibactrial gel and fresh bandages from the closet. Hurry!"

Nozomi ran to the kitchen, and opened the cabinet. She found the medicine, but was a little puzzled as she grabbed a spoon. This was liquid stuff; how were they supposed to get Haku to drink it if he was passed out? But she hurried back to her room anyway. Tsunami had been friends with a medic ninja; she probably knew what to do. She saw that Inari was already there, leaning over the bed and watching their mother bandage Haku's chest. She inched forward, unsure of what to do. "M-Mom...? I got the medicine..."

Done with her task, Tsunami took a backward step and grabbed the bottle and spoon. "Alright, now. Nozomi, you're going to have to help me with this. He can't swallow it himself, and the only medicines I have are ones you have to administer orally. So you're going to pass it to him by mouth."

Nozomi's eyes widened. In her eyes, that was like _kissing_ Haku. They'd known each other for, what, a week? That was moving way too fast. "Mom... no, I can't. Lip contact is _so_ out of the question!"

"Do you _want_ him to die?"

Nozomi was even more horrified by that prospect than by kissing him. She grabbed the spoon and poured the medicine into it. "Is this enough?" Taking her mother's nod as an affirmative, she put it in her own mouth. She was careful not to swallow it, and leaned down to Haku. She tipped his chin up, took a breath through her nose and pressed her lips to his. She gently transferred the liquid from her mouth to his, her other hand finding its way to his forehead. Even after she had finished, she wasn't quite ready to stop. It evolved into a little kiss somehow, as she kept her lips against his for about five more seconds than was necessary.

After that, she willed herself to stop and slowly pulled away, allowing his head to drop back down. She drew her hand back from his forehead as well, taking a step backward. "There."

"Alright." Tsunami opened the door. "There's nothing to do now but wait for him to wake up. Nozomi, follow me. We need to talk. Inari, stay here and keep an eye on him. Come get us if he wakes up."

Inari nodded, sitting down and picking up one of his books. "Okay, Mom."

Nozomi half-heartedly followed her mother, sighing and bracing herself for the absolute worst side of Tsunami she'd ever seen and would probably hope never to see again.

Boy, was she _in_ for it.


	15. Chapter 15

Inari cringed as his mother slammed the door behind herself and his big sister. He reached over and touched Haku's forehead, which he'd seen both Nozomi and Tsunami do. It was still fairly warm, so he pulled his hand back and opened his book. This was on of his favorites; maybe if he read it to Haku, the boy would wake up faster. "Once upon a time, there was a pokey little puppy..." **(1)**

Before he got any further, he heard Tsunami yelling. "Nozomi, I honestly don't believe you would do something like this! You should know better! Can't you see how completely idiotic and irresponsible this is? I raised you better!"

"You didn't _raise_ me at all!" Nozomi shot back, and Inari winced. Why would Nozomi say that? She was his big sister, and Tsunami was their mother. It didn't matter that Nozomi had been in the family for less time than she should have been. She was still his sister. "I'm not your daughter! I've been here for _two years_, and that's it! I'm not related to _anybody_ in this family! And for God's sake, do you know _why_ I'm here right now? It's because my own family doesn't give a damn about me! I brought _shame_ upon them, _shame_! I already feel bad about _that_, I didn't want to join _your_ stupid family just so I could be yelled at that I'd brought shame upon you, too!"

"Nozomi, I've told you a million times, you are not to curse where anybody in this house can hear you! I know what has happened to you, but that is _no_ excuse to do something like this! I'm not yelling at you because you've brought shame upon us - I'm yelling at you because you kept this boy from me for, how long, a week? You _lied_ to me! And what's worse, you pulled my son into this and made _him_ lie to me too! What is going on in your _head_, Nozomi? If you tell me what you're thinking maybe I can make sense of it, because I'm sure not getting anything from you right now!"

"He was dying, Tsunami - _dying_! What was I supposed to do, leave him there and let him drown?"

"You could have at least told me about him!"

"You would have taken him down to the stupid hospital! I couldn't let that happen!"

"The hospital's a better place for him to recover than _your bedroom_! At least the people there are qualified! Nozomi, you're two months shy of seventeen - you're _not_ qualified to handle something like this, no matter how much I've taught you or how much you've read about!"

"They would _not_ have treated him! Do you know what he is, Tsunami? He's got a Kekkei Genkai! It creates ice or something - I don't know what it does or how it works! But what I _do_ know is that there were wars a long time ago here, and for God's sake, his ancestors probably fought in them! And people with Kekkei Genkai are _still_ hated just because of what they can do! I don't know if you're aware, Tsunami, but that hospital's staff is full of prejudiced idiots! If they found out somehow that Haku's got a Kekkei Genkai - they would just not do anything! They would stand there and _watch him die_! There was no way I could have let that happen!"

Inari just barely held back a gasp at this new information. Would the doctors really not have helped Haku if they'd brought him there? Just because he was a ninja and could do things normal people couldn't? That was beyond wrong - it shouldn't matter if somebody was a ninja or not. They should still get help if they were hurt or sick.

The brunette looked down at his book and closed it, placing it on the floor with the others. He got up and ran a hand over Haku's dark hair. It felt nice, even though he'd been in bed for so long. He could tell Nozomi had been taking care of it - taking good care of Haku. He hopped up on the bed and lie down next to Haku, taking one of the older boy's hands in his own and resting his cheek on Haku's shoulder. "Don't worry, Haku. Nozomi-nee would never let that happen. Nobody's gonna take you away or anything. Just because you're a ninja... that shouldn't mean people can treat you like that... 's not fair..."

Inari curled himself up into a little ball and yawned loudly, grabbing hold of the blanket and cuddling his face deeper into the space between Haku's neck and shoulder. It was comfy, and Haku made him feel safe somehow. He knew Haku would take as good care of him as Nozomi did, and that was a good feeling.

Inari shifted and wiggled to find a comfortable spot, and eventually found one. He clutched to the blankets, pulling them tighter over both Haku and himself. Finally settling down, he closed his eyes and allowed his dark hair to tickle the inside of Haku's neck. "Night, Haku. I hope Nozomi-nee's gonna be back in soon. She might not be in a good mood though... 'cause her and Mom were arguing about you. But don't worry... maybe when we wake up it'll be morning. And everything's always better in the morning, I promise..." He closed his eyes tight and draped his arm over Haku's waist, pressing his cooler skin to his friend's warm skin.

Everything would be better in the morning...

-xxx-

Haku's eyes fluttered open, but only halfway. He was still warm, but not quite as warm as he'd been before. He was aware now - not asleep anymore. He was awake, finally. His vision was foggy, blurry, but at least he was able to see. He looked wildly about the room for Nozomi, wanting to thank her for taking such good care of him. But he was tired, and he didn't see her anywhere in the room.

He did, however, feel a small weight on his neck and shoulder area. When he looked down, it was revealed to be a sleeping Inari. Eyes closed, his brown hair was messy and strewn across Haku's skin. His mouth was open slightly, and he was snoring quietly. His arm rested over Haku's midsection, Inari's little hand on his back. The child's body rose and fell with his breathing, slowly inflating as he inhaled and deflating when he exhaled.

Haku had to admit, even if only inwardly, that the little boy was cute. He'd always had a fondness for children, and Inari was certainly one of the sweetest ones he'd ever met.

He did wonder, though, why Inari had crawled into the bed with him. Why did he feel secure enough to climb in and sleep next to him?

He felt fatigue wash over him again and he couldn't hold back a yawn. He decided right now to just settle back down and get a few more winks in. He shifted a little and placed a hand on Inari's back, shutting his eyes again. Letting out a barely audible sigh and adjusting his head on the pillow, he held Inari close, to keep him safe, and fell back into the world of sleep.

**(1) - DUDE I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! ^^**


	16. Chapter 16

Nozomi was dragged by Tsunami into the kitchen, pulled along by her wrist. She assumed this was because she had gotten upset and begun to cry. That was one of the things she just could never accept though, was prejudice like that. She knew those jackasses down at the hospital wouldn't hesitate to let Haku die if they discovered he possessed a Kekkei Genkai. It was so unfair, they shouldn't be treated that way just because they'd fought in a war - or even their family had fought in a war. Just because people had bad _memories_ of something, that didn't mean that something was _all_ bad.

Tsunami leaned against the counter, sighing and shaking her navy hair out of her face. She glanced at the sink, still full of dirty dishes from breakfast, and then looked back at her adopted daughter. "Well, Nozomi? Do you have anything more to say in your defense before I dish out some punishment to you?"

Nozomi looked up through her now-bloodshot gold eyes, and managed a slight glare at Tsunami. "You _can't_ punish me. I'm not your daughter."

"Forgive me for being cliché, but as long as you live under _my_ roof, you are expected to follow _my_ rules, Nozomi."

"You never said anything about bringing in a sick, injured boy in need!"

"I would have thought that went without saying! Really, who _does_ that kind of thing?"

"Somebody who _gives_ a chocolate-dipped damn!" Nozomi crossed her arms, looking down.

Tsunami let out a breath and took a step closer to the teenager. "Nozomi, I..."

"Can he stay?" Nozomi asked quietly, barely a whisper. She looked up at her guardian, her eyes pleading. "He doesn't have anywhere to go, and he's hurt. And now he's sick because I was too scared to change his bandages. I feel so... so responsible. He got an infection because of me."

"The infection isn't that bad, Nozomi. It'll clear up in two, three days tops. You didn't mean it. You know how debilitating your fear of wounds has been since you left your family."

"Left my family? _Left_ my family?" Nozomi let out a bitter giggle. "They kicked me out. Saying I _left_ them, that I made the _choice_ to go, is like saying that using a porcupine as a dodgeball is a good idea. It couldn't be farther from the truth. You know that - you know what happened! I've told you, and you _still_ don't seem to get it!"

"You better stop mouthing off to me right this _minute_, young lady! Your attitude was bad enough when Kaiza died, but I think I'd rather have the Nozomi who didn't speak at all as opposed to _this_!"

Nozomi sunk down into a chair and put her head on table, resting her cheek against the cool solid. "I wanna see him. Can I go see him now?"

"Not yet." Tsunami put a hand on her hip. "First you need to know what you're going to spend the next month doing."

Nozomi glanced up, not really wanting to argue. "Hmm?"

"For the next four weeks, you are not allowed to leave this house. You cannot go anywhere with Inari, or with your grandfather. Unless it involves staying in the house, everywhere is off-limits. And don't even think of tying the bedsheets together and climbing out the window. I've done that before - you always get caught."

Nozomi shrugged. "It's not like I really have anywhere to go, and Inari will hang around the house if he wants to be with me. If he doesn't, he can leave. I won't try to keep him here. I've got Haku to take care of anyway. It's good that I'm grounded - he'll probably take a month to heal."

Tsunami gave her daughter a look, then waved her hand, just shaking her head. "Go. Go see him."

"Thank you... _Mom_." Nozomi stood up, not even bothering to tidy up her hair which was strewn across her face, turned on her heel, and left the room.

Tsunami sighed and leaned against the counter, supporting her weight on her elbows and allowing her head to hang between her arms. "What am I going to do with her..."

When Nozomi saw the scene in her bedroom, all of the anger and frustration instantly melted away.

Inari was again sleeping by Haku, but it was different this time. He wasn't sleeping on his leg; he was curled up right beside him, with his face resting on Haku's shoulder. One of his arms was lying on Haku's back, and Haku was asleep too. When Nozomi crept over and carefully peeled the covers back, she found that Haku's arm was wrapped around Inari's waist. Like he was trying to keep him safe from anything that would hurt him. When she tried to lift his arm to pick Inari up and take him to his own room (again), she couldn't. Haku had a tight grip on her brother, and she noticed when she tried to move his arm, his face twisted - his eyebrows slanting down, his lips parting back a bit like he thought she was going to hurt the boy. "Don't you touch him," she heard Haku mumble in his sleep. "I won't let you hurt him."

Nozomi let go of Haku's arm and shook him gently. "Haku. Haku." She knelt down and poked his cheek, hoping that would get him to wake up. "Haku, wake up, hon."

Just as she was about ready to get a hose and turn it on him so he'd wake up, he made a noise and shifted. He raised the arm that he'd coiled around Inari, and rubbed his eyes. He almost yelped in what she assumed to be pain, but he bit it back when he realized that Inari was still sleeping beside him. He blinked a few times and looked up. It took a minute for his eyes to focus on her, but once they did she had his _full_ attention. "Nozomi...?" he muttered, half-yawning as he put his arm back around Inari. He just stared at her for a few seconds with this blank look before finally saying, "You look terrible."

Nozomi rolled her eyes. Men. "Yeah... sorry. Tsunami and I were..."

"Tsunami." He tried to sit up a little. "That's your mother, isn't it? Why aren't you calling her 'mom' anymore? If she's your mother..."

Nozomi shook her head, picking up the book that Inari had left on the floor and placing it back on the pile. "You wanna know a secret?" She leaned down and put her lips by his ear. "She's not my real mom. I'm not even sure my real mom wants anything to do with me anymore." This time she was able to move his arm from Inari, and she picked her brother up. "Why'd you...? I mean, why were you holding him like that? And by the way, um... you talk in your sleep. You thought I was going to hurt him."

Haku looked down, seeming to be deep in thought. He played with the edges of the blanket for a minute, then glanced back up. But he wasn't looking at Nozomi - his eyes rested instead on Inari. "Nozomi... let me tell you one thing that I have already decided." His chest heaved as he drew in and let out a particularly laborious breath. "I will never, _ever_... let any harm come to that child."

Nozomi shifted Inari in her arms and tilted her head inquisitively, looking at Haku. "How come?"

Haku's hand reached out, but an obvious pain in his chest prevented him from reaching too far. Nozomi bent down so that his hand could reach Inari, and Haku stroked the little boy's hair. "You know... he looks a lot like me when I was little. Shame I wasn't as cute as he is."

Nozomi smiled, then stood up to her full height. She held Inari tightly and opened the door. She took one step, then looked back at Haku and grinned. She commented, "Well, it's a good thing you're cute now" before calmly walking out, shutting the door, and heading to Inari's room.

**... She was smart to get out of there ASAP. XD**

**Sorry for letting this one go for so f'ing long! I know, I'm a bad girl... now if only I could get Orochimaru to dress up in leather while whipping me and tell me that... 'XD I'm an idiot... well, bye-bye now! ^^**


End file.
